WHERE DOES GASOLINE COME FROM? WHY IS THERE A FLAME BURNING AT OIL REFINERIES? Questions for ME, Mr. Asheim

Were does Gasoline Come from? Gasoline is one of the products that can be taken out of Crude Oil, a dark homogeneous substance that is found under the ground.

How Do We Process Crude Oil? We us a refining process to separate the different components into separate usable products i.e. Gasoline, Kerosene, Diesel, Heating or Fuel Oil, Waxes, Methane and Hydrogen This process is called distillation and can be seen in a simple example

Distillation Example If you dissolve Salt into water, there are a few techniques that will separate the salt and the water. The easiest way is to evaporate the water and then catch the water vapor on a condenser (plate).

Applying Distillation to Crude Crude Oil can be distilled into its components as seen in the diagram

What to do with the Gases? Methane and Hydrogen are two light gases that are the last products to be separated in the oil refining process. They are released in low enough quantities that they are not worth capturing and saving, but should we just vent them into the atmosphere

Burn the Gases Methane is a major problem when it is released into the atmosphere. Methane is a very reactive green house gas which is not beneficial in the atmosphere Burning methane creates Water and Carbon Dioxide. Both of which are abundant in the atmosphere and fairly stable.

The Flame Methane is burned off of most refineries and can be burned off old landfills once they start producing methane. Although the gases are not being directly used for something, it is cleaner to burn the fuel then let it pollute the atmosphere.