4
The Chemistry and Technology of Petroleum
firm, stable, secure, and the corresponding verb ασφαλίζω ίσω, meaning to make firm or stable,
to secure. It is a significant fact that the first use of asphalt by the ancients was in the nature of
cement for securing or joining together various objects, such as the bricks used for building, and
it thus seems likely that the name itself was expressive of this application. From the Greek, the
word passed into late Latin (asphaltum, aspaltum), and thence into French (asphalte) and English
(aspaltoun).
The origin of the word bitumen is more difficult to trace and is subject to considerable speculation. The word was proposed to have originated in the Sanskrit, where we find the words
jatu, meaning pitch, and jatukrit, meaning pitch creating. From the Sanskrit, the word jatu
was incorporated into the Latin language as gwitu and is reputed to have eventually become
gwitumen (pertaining to pitch). Another word, pixtumen (exuding or bubbling pitch), is also
reputed to have been in the Latin language, although the construction of this Latin word form
from which the word bitumen was reputedly derived is certainly suspect. There is the suggestion that subsequent derivation of the word led to a shortened version (which eventually
became the modern version) bitûmen thence passing via French into English. From the same
root is derived the Anglo Saxon word cwidu (mastic, adhesive), the German work kitt (cement
or mastic), and the equivalent word kvada, which is found in the old Norse language as being
descriptive of the material used to waterproof the long ships and other sea-going vessels. It is
just as (perhaps even more than) likely that the word is derived from the Celtic bethe or beithe
or bedw, which was the birch tree that was used as a source of resin (tar). The word appears
in Middle English as bithumen. In summary, a variety of terms exist in ancient language from
which, from their described use in texts, they can be proposed as having the meaning bitumen
or asphalt (Table 1.1) (Abraham, 1945).
Using these ancient words as a guide, it is possible to trace the use of petroleum and its derivatives as described in ancient texts. And preparing derivatives of petroleum was well within the area
of expertise of the early scientists (perhaps refiners would be a better term) since alchemy (early
chemistry) was known to consist of four subroutines: dissolving, melting, combining, and distilling
(Cobb and Goldwhite, 1995).
Early references to petroleum and its derivatives occur in the Bible, although by the time the various books of the Bible were written, the use of petroleum and bitumen was established. Nevertheless,
these writings do offer documented examples of the use of petroleum and related materials.
For example, in the Epic of Gilgamesh written more than 2500 years ago, a great Flood causes
the hero to build a boat that is caulked with bitumen and pitch (see, e.g., Kovacs, 1990). And, in a
related story (it is not the intent here to discuss the similarities of the two stories) of Mesopotamia
and just prior to the Flood, Noah is commanded to build an ark that also includes instructions for
caulking the vessel with pitch (Genesis 6:14):
Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
The occurrence of slime (bitumen) pits in the Valley of Siddim (Genesis, 14:10), a valley at the
southern end of the Dead Sea, is reported. There is also reference to the use of tar as a mortar when
the Tower of Babel was under construction (Genesis 11:3):
And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick
for stone, and slime had they for mortar.
In the Septuagint, or Greek version of the Bible, this work is translated as asphaltos, and in the
Vulgate or Latin version, as bitumen. In the Bishop’s Bible of 1568 and in subsequent translations
into English, the word is given as slime. In the Douay translation of 1600, it is bitume, while in
Luther’s German version, it appears as thon, the German word for clay.
The Chemistry and Technology of Petroleum
firm, stable, secure, and the corresponding verb ασφαλίζω ίσω, meaning to make firm or stable,
to secure. It is a significant fact that the first use of asphalt by the ancients was in the nature of
cement for securing or joining together various objects, such as the bricks used for building, and
it thus seems likely that the name itself was expressive of this application. From the Greek, the
word passed into late Latin (asphaltum, aspaltum), and thence into French (asphalte) and English
(aspaltoun).
The origin of the word bitumen is more difficult to trace and is subject to considerable speculation. The word was proposed to have originated in the Sanskrit, where we find the words
jatu, meaning pitch, and jatukrit, meaning pitch creating. From the Sanskrit, the word jatu
was incorporated into the Latin language as gwitu and is reputed to have eventually become
gwitumen (pertaining to pitch). Another word, pixtumen (exuding or bubbling pitch), is also
reputed to have been in the Latin language, although the construction of this Latin word form
from which the word bitumen was reputedly derived is certainly suspect. There is the suggestion that subsequent derivation of the word led to a shortened version (which eventually
became the modern version) bitûmen thence passing via French into English. From the same
root is derived the Anglo Saxon word cwidu (mastic, adhesive), the German work kitt (cement
or mastic), and the equivalent word kvada, which is found in the old Norse language as being
descriptive of the material used to waterproof the long ships and other sea-going vessels. It is
just as (perhaps even more than) likely that the word is derived from the Celtic bethe or beithe
or bedw, which was the birch tree that was used as a source of resin (tar). The word appears
in Middle English as bithumen. In summary, a variety of terms exist in ancient language from
which, from their described use in texts, they can be proposed as having the meaning bitumen
or asphalt (Table 1.1) (Abraham, 1945).
Using these ancient words as a guide, it is possible to trace the use of petroleum and its derivatives as described in ancient texts. And preparing derivatives of petroleum was well within the area
of expertise of the early scientists (perhaps refiners would be a better term) since alchemy (early
chemistry) was known to consist of four subroutines: dissolving, melting, combining, and distilling
(Cobb and Goldwhite, 1995).
Early references to petroleum and its derivatives occur in the Bible, although by the time the various books of the Bible were written, the use of petroleum and bitumen was established. Nevertheless,
these writings do offer documented examples of the use of petroleum and related materials.
For example, in the Epic of Gilgamesh written more than 2500 years ago, a great Flood causes
the hero to build a boat that is caulked with bitumen and pitch (see, e.g., Kovacs, 1990). And, in a
related story (it is not the intent here to discuss the similarities of the two stories) of Mesopotamia
and just prior to the Flood, Noah is commanded to build an ark that also includes instructions for
caulking the vessel with pitch (Genesis 6:14):
Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
The occurrence of slime (bitumen) pits in the Valley of Siddim (Genesis, 14:10), a valley at the
southern end of the Dead Sea, is reported. There is also reference to the use of tar as a mortar when
the Tower of Babel was under construction (Genesis 11:3):
And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick
for stone, and slime had they for mortar.
In the Septuagint, or Greek version of the Bible, this work is translated as asphaltos, and in the
Vulgate or Latin version, as bitumen. In the Bishop’s Bible of 1568 and in subsequent translations
into English, the word is given as slime. In the Douay translation of 1600, it is bitume, while in
Luther’s German version, it appears as thon, the German word for clay.