Oil is a mineral. Oil deposits. Oil production

Oil is one of the most important world minerals (hydrocarbon fuel). These are raw materials for the production of fuels and lubricants and other materials. For its characteristic dark color and enormous importance for the world economy, oil (minerals) is nicknamed black gold.

General information

The specified substance is formed together with gaseous hydrocarbons at a certain depth (mainly from 1.2 to 2 km).

The maximum number of oil deposits is located at a depth of 1 to 3 km. Near the earth's surface, this substance becomes dense Malta, semi-solid asphalt and other materials (for example, tar sands).

According to the originality of origin and chemical composition, oil, the photo of which is presented in the article, is similar to natural combustible gases, as well as to ozokerite and asphalt. Sometimes all these fossil fuels are united under one name - petrolites. Still they belong to a wider group - caustobiolites. They are combustible minerals of a biogenic nature.

This group also includes such minerals as peat, shales, hard and brown coals, anthracite. By its ability to dissolve in organic liquids (chloroform, carbon disulfide, alcohol-benzene mixture), oil, like other petrolites, as well as substances that are extracted with these solvents from peat, coal or products of their processing, are classified as bitumen.

Using

Currently, 48% of the energy consumed on the planet is in oil (minerals). This is a proven fact.

Oil (minerals) is the source of many chemicals used in various industries in the production of fuels, lubricants, polymer fibers, dyes, solvents and other materials.

The increase in oil consumption led to an increase in its prices and to a gradual depletion of the subsoil. This makes us think about switching to alternative energy sources.

Description of physical properties

Oil is a liquid from light brown to dark brown (almost black) color. Sometimes emerald green specimens are found. The molecular average mass of oil is from 220 to 300 g / mol. Sometimes this parameter ranges from 450 to 470 g / mol. Its density index is determined in the region of 0.65–1.05 (mainly 0.82–0.95) g / cm³. In this regard, oil is divided into several types. Namely:

• Easy. Density - less than 0.83 g / cm³.
• Medium. The density index in this case is in the region from 0.831 to 0.860 g / cm³.
• Heavy. Density - over 0.860 g / cm³.

This substance contains a significant number of various organic substances. As a result, natural oil is characterized not by its own boiling point, but by the initial level of this indicator in liquid hydrocarbons. Basically it is> 28 ° C, and sometimes ≥100 ° C (in the case of heavy oil).

The viscosity of this substance varies significantly (from 1.98 to 265.9 mm² / s). This is determined by the oil fractional composition and its temperature. The higher the temperature and the number of light fractions, the lower the viscosity of the oil. This is also due to the presence of substances of a resinous-asphaltene type. That is, the more there are, the higher the viscosity of the oil.

The specific heat of this substance is 1.7-2.1 kJ / (kg ∙ K). The specific heat of combustion parameter is relatively low - from 43.7 to 46.2 MJ / kg. The dielectric constant of oil is from 2 to 2.5, and its electrical conductivity is from 2 ∙ 10-10 to 0.3 ∙ 10−18 Ohm-1 ∙ cm-1.

Oil, the photo of which is presented in the article, is a flammable liquid. It flashes at a temperature of -35 to +120 ° C. It depends on its fractional composition and the content of dissolved gases.

Under normal conditions, oil (fuel) does not dissolve in water. However, it is able to form stable emulsions with the liquid. Oil dissolves with certain substances. This is done using organic solvents. In order to separate water and salts from oil, certain actions are carried out. They are very significant in the process. This is desalination and dehydration.

Chemical Description

When disclosing this topic, all the features of the substance in question should be taken into account. These are the general, hydrocarbon and elemental compositions of oil. Next, we consider each of them in more detail.

General composition

Natural fossil oil is a mixture of approximately 1,000 substances of various nature. The main components are as follows:

• Liquid hydrocarbons. This is 80-90% by weight.
• Organic heteroatomic compounds (4-5%). Of these, sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen are predominant.
• Organometallic compounds (mainly nickel and vanadium).
• Dissolved hydrocarbon gases (C1-C4, from tenths to 4 percent).
• Water (from traces to 10%).
• Mineral salts. Mostly chloride. 0.1-4000 mg / l and higher.
• Solutions of salts, organic acids and mechanical impurities (particles of clay, limestone, sand).

Hydrocarbon composition

Basically, oil has paraffinic (usually 30-35, rarely 40-50% of the total) and naphthenic (25-75%) compounds. To a lesser extent, aromatic compounds are present. They occupy 10-20%, and less often - 35%. This affects the quality of the oil. Also, the substance in question includes compounds of a mixed or hybrid structure. For example, naphthenic-aromatic and paraffinic.

Heteroatomic components and a description of the elemental composition of oil

Together with hydrocarbons, the product contains substances with impurity atoms (mercaptans, di- and monosulfides, thiophanes and thiophenes, as well as polycyclic and the like). They significantly affect the quality of oil.

Also, the composition of oil includes substances containing nitrogen. These are mainly homologues of indole, pyridine, quinoline, pyrrole, carbazole, porphyrites. They are concentrated mainly in residues and heavy fractions.

The composition of the oil includes oxygen-containing substances (naphthenic acids, tar-asphaltene, phenols and other substances). Usually they are in fractions of a high boiling type.

In total, over 50 elements were found in oil. Together with the substances mentioned, V (10-5 - 10-2%), Ni (10-4-10-3%), Cl (from traces to 2 ∙ 10-2%) and so on are present in this product. The content of these impurities and compounds in the raw materials of various deposits varies widely. As a result of this, talking about the average oil chemical composition is only conditional.

How is this substance classified by hydrocarbon composition?

In this regard, there are certain criteria. The types of oil are divided according to the class of hydrocarbons. They should be no more than 50%. If one of the classes of hydrocarbons is at least 25%, then mixed types of oil are distinguished - naphthenic-methane, methane-naphthenic, naphthenic-aromatic, aromatic-naphthenic, methane-aromatic and aromatic-methane. The first component contains more than 25%, and the second - more than 50%.

Crude oil is not used. To obtain technically valuable products (mainly motor fuel, raw materials for the chemical industry, solvents) it is processed.

Product Research Methods

The quality of the specified substance is evaluated in order to correctly select the most rational schemes for its processing. This is carried out using a complex of methods: chemical, physical and special.

General characteristics of oil are viscosity, density, pour point and other physicochemical parameters, as well as the composition of dissolved gases and the percentage of tar, paraffin wax and tar-asphaltene substances.

The main principle of a phased study of oil is to combine the methods of its separation into certain components with the consequent simplification of the composition of some fractions. They are then analyzed by all kinds of physicochemical methods. The most common methods for determining the primary fractional oil composition are various types of distillation (distillation) and distillation.

According to the results of the selection for narrow (boiling in the region of 10-20 ° ) and wide (50-100 ° ) fractions, a curve (ITC) of the true boiling points of this substance is built. Then, the potential of the content of individual elements, petroleum products and their components (kerosene-gas oil, gasoline, oil distillates, diesel, as well as tar and fuel oil), hydrocarbon composition, as well as other commodity and physico-chemical characteristics are determined.

The distillation is carried out on conventional distillation apparatuses. They are equipped with distillation columns. In this case, the linear separation capacity corresponds to 20-22 pieces of theoretical plates.

The fractions that were isolated by distillation are further divided into components. Then, using various methods, they determine their content and establish properties. According to the methods of expressing the oil composition and fractions, distinguish its group, individual, structural-group and elemental analyzes.

In a group analysis, the content of naphthenic, paraffinic, mixed and aromatic hydrocarbons is determined separately.

In the structural-group analysis, the hydrocarbon composition of oil fractions is determined as the average content of naphthenic, aromatic and other cyclic structures in them, as well as chains of paraffin elements. In this case, another action is taken - the calculation of the relative amount of hydrocarbon in naphthenes, paraffins and arenas.

Personal hydrocarbon composition is determined exclusively for gasoline and gas fractions. In elemental analysis, the oil composition is expressed as the amount (in percent) of C, O, S, H, N and trace elements.

The main method of separating aromatic hydrocarbons from naphthenic and paraffinic and separating arenes into poly- and monocyclic is liquid adsorption chromatography. Usually, a specific element, a double sorbent, serves as an absorber in this case.

The hydrocarbon composition of petroleum multicomponent mixtures of a wide and narrow range is usually decrypted using a combination of chromatographic (in the liquid or gas phase), adsorption and other separation methods with spectral and mass spectrometric methods of research.

Since there are tendencies in the world to deepen such a process as oil development, its detailed analysis (especially of high boiling fractions and residual products - tar and fuel oil) is of great importance.

The main oil fields in Russia

In the territory of the Russian Federation there are a significant amount of deposits of the specified substance. Oil (minerals) is the national wealth of Russia. It is one of the main export products. Oil production and refining is a source of significant tax revenues to the Russian budget.

Oil development on an industrial scale began at the end of the 19th century. At present, Russia has large functioning oil production regions. They are located in various regions of the country.

US shale oil

In recent years, the hydrocarbon fuel market has undergone major changes. The discovery of shale gas and the development of technologies for its production in a short time made the United States one of the major producers of this substance. This phenomenon was described by experts as a “shale revolution”. At the moment, the world is on the verge of an equally grandiose event. We are talking about the massive development of oil shale deposits. If earlier experts predicted the imminent end of the oil era, now it can last indefinitely. Thus, conversations about alternative energy become irrelevant.

However, information on the economic aspects of the development of oil shale deposits is very contradictory. According to the publication, however, produced shale oil in the United States (Texas) costs about $ 15 per barrel. At the same time, the further reduction in cost of the process by half seems quite real.

The world leader in the production of "classical" oil - Saudi Arabia - has good prospects in the shale industry: the cost of a barrel here is only $ 7. Russia is losing in this regard. In Russia, 1 barrel of shale oil will cost about $ 20.

According to the aforementioned publication, shale oil can be produced in all world regions. Each country has its significant reserves. However, the reliability of the above information is doubtful, since there is no information on the specific cost of shale oil production.

Analyst G. Birg cites reverse data. In his opinion, the cost of a barrel of shale oil is 70-90 dollars.

According to the analyst of the Bank of Moscow D. Borisov, the cost of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and Guinea reaches $ 80. This is approximately equal to the current market price.

G. Birg also claims that oil (shale) deposits are distributed unevenly across the planet. More than two-thirds of the total volume is concentrated in the United States. Russia accounts for only 7 percent.

To produce the product in question, large volumes of rock have to be processed. Conducting such a process as shale oil production is carried out by the quarry method. It seriously harms nature.

According to Birg, the complexity of a process such as shale oil production is offset by the prevalence of this substance on Earth.

If we assume that shale oil production technologies reach a sufficient level, then global oil prices could simply collapse. But so far no fundamental changes have been observed in this area.

With existing technologies, shale oil production can be profitable in a certain case - only when oil prices are $ 150 per barrel and higher.

According to Birg, Russia, the so-called shale revolution will not be able to harm Russia. The fact is that both scenarios are beneficial for this country. The secret is simple: high oil prices bring big revenues, and a breakthrough in the production of shale products will increase exports through the development of appropriate fields.

D. Borisov is not so optimistic in this regard. The development of shale oil production, in his opinion, promises a collapse in oil prices and a sharp drop in Russia's export earnings. True, in the near future this should not be feared, since shale developments are still problematic.

Conclusion

Minerals - oil, gas and similar substances - are the property of every state in which they are extracted. This can be seen by reading the article presented above.