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All there is to Know about Crude Oil:
Crude oil is a naturally occurring substance found in the depth of the earth. It is a dark, viscous liquid and scientifically it is classified as a hydrocarbon. In other words, it is a compound that contains carbon and hydrogen with or without non-metallic elements like oxygen and sulfur. Crude oil is highly flammable and it can be burned to created energy.
Crude oil varies a lot in appearance depending on its composition. It is usually black or dark brown but can also find yellowish and greenish looking crude oil. In an oil reservoir, crude oil is usually found along with natural gas and saline water. The natural gas is lighter than crude oil and form a gas cap over it while the heavy saline water floats under the oil.
It is not unheard of finding crude oil in semi-solid form. This type of crude oil is usually mixed with sand and is found in the Athabasca Oil Sands in Canada where it is called crude bitumen.
Crude oil was first used commercially in the United States in the 19th century. During its initial years, the oil was stored in wooden barrels and each barrel was equivalent to 42 US gallons or 159 liters. In some cases, crude oil is measured in tons. The number of barrels in each ton varies depending on the type of crude and its specific gravity. However, the average number of barrels in each ton is 7.33.
Burning crude oil itself is of limited use. Mostly it is used to get refined petroleum products including gasoline, also known as petrol. The other products that refined from crude oil include liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), naphtha, gasoil, fuel oil, and kerosene. Other products that are not fuels but can be manufactured from crude oil include lubricants and asphalt.
The proven crude oil reserves in the world are estimated to be more than one trillion barrels and OPEC members hold nearly 78 percent of those.
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Distillation is a method by which a liquid mixture containing different chemical substances is boiled so that the chemical substances can be separated based on their volatility. Distillation usually a part of a chemical process and there are different types of distillation. For refining crude oil, fractional distillation process is used. 
