Abstract
AT a meeting of the Manchester University Branch of the Association of Scientific Workers on February 1, Dr. H. Steiner gave a lecture on the development of the oil industry. Oil was first produced industrially in 1859, when 300,000 gallons were obtained; by 1938 the production of crude oil had risen to 70,000 million gallons. In the last century the most important product was kerosene; since 1900 the advent of the motor-car has shifted the importance to the lighter fractions of the crude-mainly petrol. Due to the increased demand for the light fraction, production became unbalanced, in that too much high-and too little low-boiling fractions were produced. This was remedied by the cracking process, which by applying heat and pressure, produces lower boiling hydrocarbons from the higher boiling ones.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Development of the Oil Industry. Nature 155, 232 (1945). https://doi.org/10.1038/155232b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/155232b0