3
1
History and Terminology
1.1 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
Petroleum is perhaps the most important substance consumed in modern society. It provides not
only raw materials for the ubiquitous plastics and other products but also fuel for energy, industry,
heating, and transportation. The word petroleum, derived from the Latin petra and oleum, literally
means rock oil and refers to hydrocarbons that occur widely in the sedimentary rocks in the form of
gases, liquids, semisolids, or solids.
From a chemical standpoint, petroleum is an extremely complex mixture of hydrocarbon compounds, usually with minor amounts of nitrogen-, oxygen-, and sulfur-containing compounds, as
well as trace amounts of metal-containing compounds (Chapter 8).
The fuels that are derived from petroleum supply more than half of the world’s total supply of
energy. Gasoline, kerosene, and diesel oil provide fuel for automobiles, tractors, trucks, aircraft, and
ships. Fuel oil and natural gas are used to heat homes and commercial buildings, as well as to generate
electricity. Petroleum products are the basic materials used for the manufacture of synthetic fibers for
clothing and in plastics, paints, fertilizers, insecticides, soaps, and synthetic rubber. The uses of petroleum as a source of raw material in manufacturing are central to the functioning of modern industry.
Petroleum is a carbon-based resource. Therefore, the geochemical carbon cycle is also of interest to fossil fuel usage in terms of petroleum formation, use, and the buildup of atmospheric carbon dioxide (Chapter 30). Thus, the more efficient use of petroleum is of paramount importance.
Petroleum technology, in one form or another, is with us until suitable alternative forms of energy
are readily available (Boyle, 1996; Ramage, 1997). Therefore, a thorough understanding of the
benefits and limitations of petroleum recovery and processing is necessary and, hopefully, can be
introduced within the pages of this book.
The history of any subject is the means by which the subject is studied in the hopes that much
can be learned from the events of the past. In the current context, the occurrence and use of petroleum, petroleum derivatives (naphtha), heavy oil, and bitumen is not new. The use of petroleum and
its derivatives was practiced in pre-Christian times and is known largely through historical use in
many of the older civilizations (Henry, 1873; Abraham, 1945; Forbes, 1958a,b; James and Thorpe,
1994). Thus, the use of petroleum and the development of related technology is not such a modern
subject as we are inclined to believe. However, the petroleum industry is essentially a twentiethcentury industry, but to understand the evolution of the industry, it is essential to have a brief understanding of the first uses of petroleum.
The Tigris-Euphrates valley, in what is now Iraq, was inhabited as early as 4000 BC by the
people known as the Sumerians, who established one of the first great cultures of the civilized
world. The Sumerians devised the cuneiform script, built the temple-towers known as ziggurats,
an impressive law, literature, and mythology. As the culture developed, bitumen or asphalt was
frequently used in construction and in ornamental works.
Although it is possible to differentiate between the words bitumen and asphalt in modern use, the
occurrence of these words in older texts offers no such possibility. It is significant that the early use
of bitumen was in the nature of cement for securing or joining together various objects, and it thus
seems likely that the name itself was expressive of this application.
The word asphalt is derived from the Akkadian term asphaltu or sphallo, meaning to split.
It was later adopted by the Homeric Greeks in the form of the adjective ασφαλής ες, signifying
1
History and Terminology
1.1 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
Petroleum is perhaps the most important substance consumed in modern society. It provides not
only raw materials for the ubiquitous plastics and other products but also fuel for energy, industry,
heating, and transportation. The word petroleum, derived from the Latin petra and oleum, literally
means rock oil and refers to hydrocarbons that occur widely in the sedimentary rocks in the form of
gases, liquids, semisolids, or solids.
From a chemical standpoint, petroleum is an extremely complex mixture of hydrocarbon compounds, usually with minor amounts of nitrogen-, oxygen-, and sulfur-containing compounds, as
well as trace amounts of metal-containing compounds (Chapter 8).
The fuels that are derived from petroleum supply more than half of the world’s total supply of
energy. Gasoline, kerosene, and diesel oil provide fuel for automobiles, tractors, trucks, aircraft, and
ships. Fuel oil and natural gas are used to heat homes and commercial buildings, as well as to generate
electricity. Petroleum products are the basic materials used for the manufacture of synthetic fibers for
clothing and in plastics, paints, fertilizers, insecticides, soaps, and synthetic rubber. The uses of petroleum as a source of raw material in manufacturing are central to the functioning of modern industry.
Petroleum is a carbon-based resource. Therefore, the geochemical carbon cycle is also of interest to fossil fuel usage in terms of petroleum formation, use, and the buildup of atmospheric carbon dioxide (Chapter 30). Thus, the more efficient use of petroleum is of paramount importance.
Petroleum technology, in one form or another, is with us until suitable alternative forms of energy
are readily available (Boyle, 1996; Ramage, 1997). Therefore, a thorough understanding of the
benefits and limitations of petroleum recovery and processing is necessary and, hopefully, can be
introduced within the pages of this book.
The history of any subject is the means by which the subject is studied in the hopes that much
can be learned from the events of the past. In the current context, the occurrence and use of petroleum, petroleum derivatives (naphtha), heavy oil, and bitumen is not new. The use of petroleum and
its derivatives was practiced in pre-Christian times and is known largely through historical use in
many of the older civilizations (Henry, 1873; Abraham, 1945; Forbes, 1958a,b; James and Thorpe,
1994). Thus, the use of petroleum and the development of related technology is not such a modern
subject as we are inclined to believe. However, the petroleum industry is essentially a twentiethcentury industry, but to understand the evolution of the industry, it is essential to have a brief understanding of the first uses of petroleum.
The Tigris-Euphrates valley, in what is now Iraq, was inhabited as early as 4000 BC by the
people known as the Sumerians, who established one of the first great cultures of the civilized
world. The Sumerians devised the cuneiform script, built the temple-towers known as ziggurats,
an impressive law, literature, and mythology. As the culture developed, bitumen or asphalt was
frequently used in construction and in ornamental works.
Although it is possible to differentiate between the words bitumen and asphalt in modern use, the
occurrence of these words in older texts offers no such possibility. It is significant that the early use
of bitumen was in the nature of cement for securing or joining together various objects, and it thus
seems likely that the name itself was expressive of this application.
The word asphalt is derived from the Akkadian term asphaltu or sphallo, meaning to split.
It was later adopted by the Homeric Greeks in the form of the adjective ασφαλής ες, signifying