Monday, July 26, 2010

How is the right viscosity achieved in motor oils?

A general answer is that oil is a long chain hydrocarbon. When the oil comes up out of the well it can have a lot of different properties depending on the geology of the site. The oil has to be processed to make kerosene, gasoline, motor oil and other substances. The chemical plants that do this are complicated, and the process takes a long time.





If the chemical engineer wants a certain type of motor oil this is done through refining and distilling the petroleum. One of the most interesting parts of this process is called ';cracking'; the long chain of hydrocarbons so that it burns faster and cleaner. The whole process involves a lot of mathematics and computers. As far as industrial processes go, refining petroleum is one of the most complicated tasks.
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