Oil specific weight. Weight of oil in 1 liter

One of the most important mineral resources of modern times, “black gold”, “earth oil” or simply oil, plays one of the key roles on the global financial stage. The price of oil affects not only individual companies, but also the economies of entire states.

Oil was known to humanity several thousand years before the birth of Christ. It was used in the construction of the legendary city of Babylon. The ancient Egyptians used it to mummify their dead, and the ancient Greeks used oil to create incendiary mixtures in their numerous wars. In the Middle Ages, humanity began to use products of oil distillation in medicine and everyday life.

The word “petroleum” is formed from a phrase that literally translates as “stone oil”: petra means stone, oleum means oil. In German and many other languages of the world, the concept meaning “oil” is also literally translated as “mountain” or “stone” oil, including in Chinese. Incidentally, it was the inhabitants of China who drilled the first oil well in 347 AD.

Scientists claim that the Russian word “neft” came from an Assyrian word with deep Arabic roots, meaning “that which is expelled by the earth”. Other versions point to the ancient Iranian word naft, meaning “moist, liquid”.

Properties of oil

Oil is a liquid oily mixture of hydrocarbons and associated compounds. Its color may be black, dark brown, brown, greenish or yellowish, and its density is usually about 0.65-1.05 g/cm³. The specific weight indicator assigns oil to a category from light to heavy: density below 0.83 g/cm³ is usually characteristic of light oil, while above 0.86 g/cm³ is characteristic of heavy oil.

Oil density depends not only on temperature and pressure. Different composition and quantity of organic compounds determine different boiling and crystallization temperature limits. Characteristics such as the following are also considered:

• paraffin content,
• oil viscosity,
• content of resin-asphaltene substances,
• electrical conductivity,
• flash point and so on.

Interesting facts about oil

• Many people think that the organic matter from which oil formed came from prehistoric dinosaurs. That is not correct: most of the source material was ancient plankton, algae and other marine microorganisms.
• Oil does not occur in underground lakes or rivers, but saturates special porous reservoir rocks. These are what form oil fields.
• The spread of kerosene lighting reduced demand for whale oil as lamp fuel, although the decline of whaling had several causes and should not be explained by petroleum alone.
• In the early refining industry, gasoline was long treated as a by-product: kerosene was the main product, while surplus light fractions were often used only narrowly or disposed of in unsafe ways.
• Oil is one of the components of products such as chewing gum, lipsticks, sports equipment, balls, rackets, skis, lawn coverings and so on, fishing lures and other fishing equipment.
• Petrochemical products are used to make plastics, synthetic fibers, some cosmetic ingredients, packaging, technical materials and many everyday goods.