Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek "keros" (κηρός wax). The word "Kerosene" was registered as a trademark by Abraham Gesner in 1854 and for several years only the North American Gas Light Company and the Downer Company (to which Gesner had granted the right) were allowed to call their lamp oil "kerosene". It eventually became genericized.
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Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek "keros" (κηρός wax). The word "Kerosene" was registered as a trademark by Abraham Gesner in 1854 and for several years only the North American Gas Light Company and the Downer Company (to which Gesner had granted the right) were allowed to call their lamp oil "kerosene". It eventually became genericized.
It is usually called paraffin (sometimes paraffin oil) in the UK and South Africa (not to be confused with the waxy solid also called paraffin wax or just paraffin, or the much more viscous paraffin oil used as a laxative); the term kerosene is usual in much of Canada, the United States, Australia (where it is usually referred to colloquially as "kero"), and New Zealand.
Kerosene is widely used to power jet-engined aircraft (Jet fuel) and some rockets, but is also commonly used as a heating fuel.
The heat of combustion of Kerosene is similar to that of diesel: Its Lower Heating Value is around 18,500 Btu/lb, or 43.1 MJ/kg, and its Higher Heating Value is 46.2MJ/kg.
Distillation
Kerosene is a thin, clear liquid formed from hydrocarbons, with density of 0.78-0.81g/cm3. Kerosene is obtained from the fractional distillation of petroleum between 150 °C and 275 °C, resulting in a mixture of carbon chains containing 12 to 15 carbon atoms.
- Kerosene was first described by al-Razi (Rhazes) as a distillation of petroleum in 9th-century Baghdad. In his Kitab al-Asrar (Book of Secrets), he described two methods for the production of kerosene. One method involved using clay as an absorbent, whereas the other method involved using ammonium chloride (sal ammoniac).
- In 1846 Canadian geologist Abraham Gesner gave a public demonstration in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island of a new process he had discovered. He heated coal in a retort and distilled from it a clear, thin fluid which he showed made an excellent lamp fuel. He coined the name "Kerosene" for his fuel, a contraction of "keroselaion", meaning "wax-oil". The cost of extracting kerosene from coal was, however, high. Fortunately, Gesner recalled from his extensive knowledge of New Brunswick's geology a naturally-occurring asphaltum called Albertite. He was however blocked from using it by the New Brunswick coal conglomerate because they had coal extraction rights for the province and he lost a court case when their experts claimed that Albertite was in fact a form of coal. Gesner subsequently moved to Newton Creek, Long Island, USA, in 1854, where he secured the backing of a group of businessmen. They formed the North American Gas Light Company, to which he assigned his patents. Despite clear priority of discovery, Gesner did not obtain his first kerosene patent until 1854, two years after James Young's US patent. Gesner's method of purifying the distillation products appears to have been superior to Young's, resulting in a cleaner and better smelling fuel. Manufacture of kerosene under the Gesner patents began in New York in 1854 and later in Boston, being distilled from bituminous coal and oil shale.
