Kerosene

Kerosene is a clear liquid.

It comes from oil found deep in the ground. People use it as fuel. It helps big planes fly in the sky.

It can also help us cook food. Some people use it for light in lamps. It can even power small motors.

Long ago, a man named Abraham Gesner helped make it. He made it from coal and rock. This helped people light their homes.

Kerosene is a very useful thing. It is used all over the world.

Kerosene is a clear liquid. It comes from petroleum, which is oil from the ground.

People use kerosene as fuel in many ways. It powers jet engines for large planes. Some rocket engines even use a special type.

In many homes, it is used for cooking or light. In parts of Asia, it powers small motors.

People have found ways to make kerosene for a long time. A scholar named Rāzi wrote about it in the ninth century.

Later, Abraham Gesner helped make it common. He made it from coal and oil shale. He even gave it the name kerosene.

Kerosene comes in different grades. Grade 1-K is a very clean type. It is good for indoor stoves and heaters. It burns with fewer toxins. This helps keep the air cleaner inside a home.

Kerosene is a clear, liquid fuel that people use all over the world.

It is a hydrocarbon liquid, which means it is made of molecules containing carbon and hydrogen. Most kerosene is made from petroleum, which is the oil found deep underground. People use it for many different jobs. It is a very important fuel for jet engines on large aircraft. Some rocket engines even use a special, highly refined version called RP-1. In many homes, it is used for cooking or providing light.

In parts of Asia, it even powers small motors on motorcycles or boats.

Making kerosene is a careful way of working with oil.

It is created through a process called fractional distillation. This happens when petroleum is heated up to separate it into different parts. The kerosene we use is a mixture of molecules that usually have between 9 and 16 carbon atoms. These molecules are mostly straight or branched chains called alkanes. It is a liquid that stays clear at room temperature. Kerosene can mix with other petroleum solvents, but it will not mix with water.

People have been finding ways to make this fuel for a very long time. As early as the ninth century, a Persian scholar named Rāzi wrote about making it.

He used a tool called an alembic to distill it. Later, in 1846, a geologist named Abraham Gesner showed a way to make it from coal and oil shale. Gesner gave it the name "kerosene" in 1854. He based the name on the Greek word for wax. Another scientist, James Young, also worked on making paraffin oil around the same time.

There are different types of kerosene made for different needs.

One type is called Grade 1-K, which has very little sulfur. This grade burns much cleaner and is better for indoor heaters or stoves. Another type is Grade 2-K, which has more sulfur. In the United Kingdom, people use specific classes for different things. Class C1 is a light grade used for camping stoves and lanterns. Class C2 is a heavier kind used for heating homes. To keep people safe, some places use blue containers for kerosene so it is not mixed up with gasoline.

While kerosene is very useful, it can also be hard on the environment. The World Health Organization says it is a polluting fuel. When it burns inside a house, the smoke can contain harmful particles. This can make it hard for people to breathe or cause other health problems. Because of this, some experts suggest that governments should stop promoting its use in homes. Even so, the world still uses about 5,500,000 barrels of kerosene every single day. It remains a huge part of how we move and live around the globe.

Kerosene is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid that serves as a vital energy source worldwide. It is primarily derived from petroleum through a chemical separation process. This liquid is essential for modern transportation, especially for powering jet engines in aircraft. Some highly refined versions, known as RP-1, are even used to fuel certain rocket engines. Beyond aviation, kerosene is a common household fuel for cooking and lighting in many regions.

Because it is so useful, the world consumes approximately 5,500,000 barrels of kerosene every day as of July 2023.

To understand how kerosene is made, one must look at the process of fractional distillation. This method involves heating crude petroleum to separate it into different components based on their properties. Kerosene is a clear, low-viscosity liquid formed during this stage. Its chemical makeup consists of hydrocarbon molecules, which typically contain between 6 and 20 carbon atoms. Most kerosene molecules specifically contain between 9 and 16 carbon atoms.

These molecules are mostly composed of alkanes, which are straight or branched chains, and naphthenes, which are ring-shaped molecules. Together, these two types of hydrocarbons account for at least 70% of the liquid's volume.

Kerosene is classified into different grades to ensure safety and efficiency. ASTM International recognizes two main grades: 1-K and 2-K. Grade 1-K contains less than 0.04% sulfur by weight. Because it has very little sulfur, it burns much cleaner and produces fewer toxins or deposits. This makes 1-K the preferred choice for indoor heaters and stoves. In contrast, Grade 2-K contains a higher sulfur content of 0.3% by weight. In the United Kingdom, different standards also exist. BS 2869 Class C1 is a light grade for lanterns and camping stoves. BS 2869 Class C2 is a heavier distillate used for domestic heating oil.

The history of kerosene spans many centuries and different cultures. As early as the ninth century, the Persian scholar Rāzi described methods for distilling kerosene. He used an apparatus called an alembic to produce what he called "white naphtha." He even used clay or chemicals like ammonium chloride to help refine the process.

During the Ming Dynasty in China, petroleum was purified and used for lamp fuel. In the 1800s, inventors worked to create more reliable versions of this fuel from coal and oil shale.

In North America, Abraham Gesner played a major role in the development of the fuel. A geologist from Nova Scotia, Gesner demonstrated a process to create liquid kerosene from bituminous coal in 1846. He coined the name "kerosene" as a contraction of the Greek word *kērós*, meaning wax. He registered "Kerosene" as a trademark in 1854. Around the same time, Scottish chemist James Young was also working with paraffin oil. Young built the first commercial oil-works in Bathgate, Scotland, in 1851.

Another important figure was Samuel Martin Kier, who distilled kerosene from crude oil. Historians often call Kier the "Grandfather of the American Oil Industry."

Safety is a major concern when handling kerosene due to its flammable nature. It must be carefully distinguished from gasoline, which is much more volatile and burns more easily. To prevent dangerous mistakes, some areas use specific color-coded containers. For example, in Pennsylvania, the law requires kerosene containers to be blue. This helps people tell them apart from red gasoline containers or yellow diesel containers.

Kerosene has specific physical limits, such as a flash point between 38 and 72 degrees Celsius. It also has a freezing point that varies by grade, with aviation fuel standardized at -47 degrees Celsius.

While kerosene is a powerful tool, it also presents significant environmental and health challenges. The World Health Organization classifies kerosene as a polluting fuel. When used inside homes, the smoke from kerosene can contain high levels of harmful particulate matter. This exposure is linked to serious health risks, including asthma, respiratory infections, and tuberculosis. It is also associated with higher risks of cancer and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Because of these risks, health experts recommend that governments stop promoting its use for household purposes. Despite these concerns, the fuel remains deeply integrated into global systems, from small outboard motors in Asia to massive jet engines in the sky.