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How did the door from petroleum open to petroleum chemicals?

The first precise study of the distillation of crude oil was carried out in the United States by Benjamin Silliman in 1855, that is, about a century ago or a little more. People used petroleum for fires, and then it became clear from Benjamin’s distillation that petroleum has thick compounds suitable for lubricating wheels and machines.

Petroleum derivatives were not used to run car engines until towards the end of the last century and the beginning of the present, when these cars appeared.

- Crushing or clattering of petroleum:

After that, the need for automobile gasoline (gasoline) intensified. But the amount contained in the petroleum raw materials was of this gasoline (gasoline), which is slightly boiling. They sought to obtain a greater amount of this gasoline from raw materials, so the petroleum industry entered a new era mentioned, which is the era of breaking down the heavy tar molecules, with long molecules, which we obtain from petroleum at high boiling points, using heat and pressure, as well as “auxiliary agents.” Catalytic Agents such as silica and aluminum oxide, which is an easier method.

For example, if a compound with 14 carbon atoms in its molecule breaks down into compounds with a yellow number of carbon atoms, its boiling point is lower, it is more likely to be volatile, and therefore it is more useful as gasoline for cars.

They called this dangerous process Cracking, which is an English word that means smashing and breaking, and with the smashing a sound comes out.

It is permissible to call it “crackling,” in keeping with the French word, as we “crack” the petroleum with heat and pressure, so it “crackles” and simpler, more volatile compounds come out of it.

Through this process, scientists and technologists achieved what they wanted of increasing the amount of gasoline that comes out of a certain amount of petroleum, which is suitable as fuel for internal combustion engines, which are automobile engines in general.

Chemists achieved this goal. But they reached another goal. They found that if they added this new degraded gasoline to the gasoline they obtained without degrading, it would burn better in car engines. It reduced engine vibration by raising what engineers describe as the octane number.

The destruction occurs, not on the material, but on the heavy droplets from which it came out through distillation, or even on the lighter ones if we want something that is lighter.

(Threads made of the plastic known as Polypropylene are tested in laboratories, and strong ropes and car seat covers are made from this plastic. As its name indicates, it is created from petroleum chemicals.)