Oil as an energy source
Oil is a fossil energy carrier and it's non-renewable. In general, oil is a liquid that is made up of organic molecules. However, the world oil in the context of the energy sector is the liquid fossil fuel that is extracted from the ground. Roughly 1/3 of the world's primary energy comes from this primary fuel. One barrell of oil equals approximately 159 liters.
With these pumps the workers gain the oil from the underground.
Examples:
Petrol
In several steps the "raw" oil can be turned into petrol. Notice that oil isn't a typical raw material, it's more a composion of different components. It contains a variety of different hydrocarbon compounds. One of those compunds is petrol. For example in the USA, transportation makes up 70% of the national oil usage.
Heating
A lot of households still use oil heating. First you have to tell the thermostat what temperature you want your rooms to be. If the temperature drops below that, the heater kicks into action and starts to heat. Meanwhile, oil is pumped into a burner thorough a nozzle where it converts the flowing liquid into a spray. At the same time, air is mixed with the oil mist in a combustion chamber where it is ignited. The heat then flows through a distribution system and the rooms get heaten.
Please also check out our deepening post.
Quiz:
In general, oil is a liquid that is made up of organic molecules. But what is it in the context of the energy sector?
Sources:
Infos for introduction (energyeducation.ca)
Picture source (streetwisereports.com)
Making petrol (kombi.de)
How does an oil heating system work? (princetonfuel.com)
Vocab:
Composion = Zusammensetzung
Components = Bestandteile
hydrocarbon compounds = Kohlenwasserstoffverbindungen
nozzle = Düse
convert = umwandeln
combustion chamber = Brennkammer
ignite = entzünden
By Seraina Wernli and Anna Meier