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Kerosene: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Kerosene
In 1854, a Nova Scotia geologist named Abraham Gesner registered the word Kerosene as a trademark, creating a name that would eventually become so ubiquitous it lost its proprietary status and became a generic term for a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. This single word, derived from the Greek kērós meaning wax, now describes a substance that powers jet engines, heats homes in the developing world, and has fundamentally altered the history of human illumination. Before kerosene, the world relied on whale oil, which was expensive and required a massive fleet of ships to harvest. By the late 19th century, the invention of kerosene had caused the American whaling fleet to collapse from a peak of 199 ships in 1858 to just 39 ships by 1876. The transition was so rapid that kerosene, once known as coal oil, became the primary fuel for lamps and stoves, displacing the ancient practice of burning whale blubber and paving the way for the modern petroleum industry. The story of kerosene is not merely one of chemistry, but of a global economic shift that began with a man who tried to distill oil from coal and ended with a fuel that powers the engines of the space age.
The Persian Distiller And The Coal Oil Wars
The process of distilling crude oil into kerosene was first written about in the ninth century by the Persian scholar Rāzi, also known as Rhazes, who described two methods for producing naft abyad, or white naphtha, using an apparatus called an alembic. Rāzi utilized clay as an absorbent and later chemicals like ammonium chloride to purify the distillation until the product was clear and safe to burn, a technique that was also used during the Chinese Ming Dynasty to convert petroleum into lamp fuel as early as 1500 BC. However, the modern commercial history of kerosene began in the 1840s when Canadian geologist Abraham Gesner claimed to have demonstrated liquid kerosene in 1846, though historical records suggest he may have been promoting an illuminating gas rather than an oil at that time. Gesner's patent for kerosene was not issued until 1854, two years after Scottish chemist James Young had already secured a United States patent for paraffine oil in 1852. Young had discovered oil seeping in a coal mine and later experimented with dry distillation of boghead coal, creating a product that congealed into a substance resembling paraffin wax. While Gesner's method of purifying distillation products was superior, resulting in a cleaner and better-smelling fuel, Young's patents were upheld in a series of lawsuits, forcing other producers to pay him royalties. The competition between these two men defined the early industry, with Gesner eventually moving to New York to form the North American Gas Light Company, while Young established the first truly commercial oil-works in Bathgate, Scotland, in 1851.
When did Abraham Gesner register the word Kerosene as a trademark?
Abraham Gesner registered the word Kerosene as a trademark in 1854. This Nova Scotia geologist created a name that eventually became so ubiquitous it lost its proprietary status and became a generic term for a combustible hydrocarbon liquid.
Who was the Persian scholar that first wrote about distilling crude oil into kerosene?
The Persian scholar Rāzi, also known as Rhazes, first wrote about the process of distilling crude oil into kerosene in the ninth century. He described two methods for producing naft abyad, or white naphtha, using an apparatus called an alembic.
What happened to the American whaling fleet after the invention of kerosene?
The American whaling fleet collapsed from a peak of 199 ships in 1858 to just 39 ships by 1876 after the invention of kerosene. This transition caused the fleet to disappear as kerosene displaced the ancient practice of burning whale blubber.
When did Ignacy Łukasiewicz move to the Gorlice region of Poland?
Ignacy Łukasiewicz moved to the Gorlice region of Poland in 1854. He had previously experimented with distillation techniques using oil from a local petroleum seep since 1852 and sank several wells across southern Poland over the following decade.
What is the recommended exposure limit for kerosene set by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health?
The US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has set a recommended exposure limit of 100 mg/m3 over an 8-hour workday. This limit applies to workplace exposure where people can be exposed to kerosene by breathing it in, swallowing it, skin contact, and eye contact.
What is the freezing point of Grade 1-K kerosene used in commercial aviation fuel?
Grade 1-K kerosene freezes around -40°C. This fuel grade meets specifications for smoke points and freeze points, with commercial aviation fuel standardized at a freezing point that depends on the grade.
The petroleum discovery by Edwin Drake in western Pennsylvania in 1859 caused a great deal of public excitement and investment drilling in new wells, not only in Pennsylvania but also in Canada and southern Poland. This event allowed oil refiners to entirely side-step the oil-from-coal patents of both Young and Gesner, and produce illuminating oil from petroleum without paying royalties to anyone. The shift was so complete that the illuminating oil industry in the United States switched over to petroleum in the 1860s, and the trade name Kerosene soon lost its proprietary status to become the lower-case generic product kerosene. In Poland, Ignacy Łukasiewicz, a pharmacist residing in Lviv, had been experimenting with different distillation techniques using oil from a local petroleum seep since 1852. On the night of the 31st of July 1853, doctors at a local hospital needed to perform an emergency operation that was virtually impossible by candlelight, so they sent a messenger for Łukasiewicz and his new lamps. The lamp burned so brightly and cleanly that the hospital officials ordered several lamps plus a large supply of fuel, prompting Łukasiewicz to quit his pharmacy and travel to Vienna to register his technique. He moved to the Gorlice region of Poland in 1854 and sank several wells across southern Poland over the following decade, setting up a refinery near Jasło in 1859. The increased supply of petroleum from these sources allowed the world to move away from the expensive and labor-intensive coal distillation processes that had previously dominated the market.
The Dark Side Of The Flame
The World Health Organization considers kerosene to be a polluting fuel and recommends that governments and practitioners immediately stop promoting its household use, citing high levels of harmful particulate matter in kerosene smoke. Household use of kerosene is associated with higher risks of cancer, respiratory infections, asthma, tuberculosis, cataracts, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. In 1880, nearly two of every five New York City fires were caused by defective kerosene lamps, highlighting the significant fire risk associated with the fuel. The 1873 edition of Elements of Chemistry stated that the vapor of kerosene mixed with air is as explosive as gunpowder, a statement that may have been due to the common practice of adulterating kerosene with cheaper but more volatile hydrocarbon mixtures, such as naphtha. Ingestion of kerosene is harmful, and while it is sometimes recommended as a folk remedy for killing head lice, health agencies warn against this as it can cause burns and serious illness. A kerosene shampoo can even be fatal if fumes are inhaled, and people can be exposed to kerosene in the workplace by breathing it in, swallowing it, skin contact, and eye contact. The US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has set a recommended exposure limit of 100 mg/m3 over an 8-hour workday, yet millions continue to rely on it for cooking and lighting in the developing world.
The Fuel That Flew To The Moon
Today, kerosene is mainly used in fuel for jet engines in several grades, with one highly refined form known as RP-1 often burned with liquid oxygen as rocket fuel. In the initial phase of liftoff, the Saturn V launch vehicle was powered by the reaction of liquid oxygen with RP-1, and for the five 6.4 meganewton sea-level thrust F-1 rocket engines of the Saturn V, burning together, the reaction generated roughly 1.62 x 10^11 watts or 217 million horsepower. This fuel grade kerosene meets specifications for smoke points and freeze points, with commercial aviation fuel standardized at a freezing point that depends on the grade, with Grade 1-K kerosene freezing around -40°C. The combustion reaction can be approximated with the molecular formula C12H26, and the fuel is used to power aircraft, tanks, and electrical generators for the United States military and its NATO allies. JP-8, a kerosene-based fuel, is used by the United States military as a replacement in diesel fueled vehicles and for powering aircraft, while ultra-low sulfur kerosene is a custom-blended fuel used by the New York City Transit Authority to power its bus fleet. The versatility of kerosene extends to smaller-horsepower outboard motors built by Yamaha, Suzuki, and Tohatsu, which are dual-fuel engines that start on gasoline and then transition to kerosene once the engine reaches optimum operating temperature.
The Hidden Uses Of A Common Liquid
Kerosene is commonly used in metal extraction as the diluent, for example in copper extraction by LIX-84, and in the PUREX extraction process, though it is increasingly being supplanted by dodecane and other artificial hydrocarbons. In X-ray crystallography, kerosene can be used to store crystals to prevent dehydration, and it can also be used to prevent air from re-dissolving in a boiled liquid. It is used to store alkali metals such as potassium, sodium, and rubidium, with the exception of lithium, which is less dense than kerosene and causes it to float. In the entertainment industry, kerosene is often used for fire performances, such as fire breathing, fire juggling, or poi, because of its low flame temperature when burnt in free air, which lowers the risk should the performer come in contact with the flame. It can be used as an adhesive remover on hard-to-remove mucilage or adhesive left by stickers on a glass surface, and it can be used to remove candle wax that has dripped onto a glass surface. Artists use it to thin oil-based paint used in fine art, and it can be used to clean bicycle and motorcycle chains of old lubricant before relubrication. In Australia, it has seen use for water tank mosquito control, where a temporary thin floating layer above the water protects it until the defective tank is repaired.