Petrol, also known as gasoline in America, is primarily obtained from crude oil, a fossil fuel found deep beneath the Earth's surface. The process involves extracting this crude oil and then refining it.
The Origin: Crude Oil from Deep Underground
The journey of petrol begins with crude oil, which comes from deep underground. This raw material is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons formed over millions of years from the remains of ancient marine organisms.
The Transformation: Refining Crude Oil
Once extracted, the crude oil is transported to specialized facilities called refineries. At these refineries, the crude oil undergoes a complex process known as refining.
Here's a simplified look at the steps involved:
- Extraction: Crude oil is pumped from reservoirs located deep underground.
- Transportation: The raw crude oil is transported via pipelines, ships, or trucks to a refinery.
- Refining: Inside the refinery, the crude oil is heated and separated into different components or fractions based on their boiling points. This separation process is called fractional distillation.
- Processing: The initial fractions are further processed and treated to improve their quality and yield specific products like petrol.
This refining process is essential to turn the raw crude oil into usable fuel.
From Crude Oil to Usable Fuel
The reference explicitly states that crude oil is refined to make petrol (in America this is known as gasoline) or diesel. This highlights the refining step as the critical part of obtaining petrol from its raw source.
You can think of the process like this:
| Source | Process | Product |
|---|---|---|
| Crude Oil (deep underground) | Refining | Petrol (Gasoline) |
Powering Transport
The petrol produced through refining is a vital energy source for many forms of transport. As the reference mentions, Most forms of transport use either petrol or diesel to power their engines - from lawnmowers, cars, buses and motorbikes to large ships and aeroplanes.
In summary, getting petrol involves extracting crude oil from deep underground and then refining this crude oil to produce petrol and other petroleum products.
