kerosene

kerosene
/ker"euh seen', kar"-, ker'euh seen", kar'-/, n.
1. a mixture of liquid hydrocarbons obtained by distilling petroleum, bituminous shale, or the like, and widely used as a fuel, cleaning solvent, etc.
adj.
2. using or fueled by kerosene: a kerosene lamp.
Also, kerosine.
[1852; irreg. < Gk kerós wax + -ENE; formerly trademark]

* * *

or kerosine

Organic compound, a clear, oily, highly flammable liquid with a strong odour, distilled from petroleum (10–25% of total volume).

It is a mixture of about 10 different types of fairly simple hydrocarbons, depending on its source. It is less volatile than gasoline, boiling at 285–610 °F (140–320 °C). It is burned in lamps, heaters, and furnaces and is used as a fuel or fuel component for diesel and tractor engines, jet engines, and rockets and as a solvent for greases and insecticides.

* * *

also spelled  kerosine , also called  paraffin,  paraffin oil , or  coal oil 

      flammable pale yellow or colourless oily liquid with a not-unpleasant characteristic odour. It is obtained from petroleum and used for burning in lamps and domestic heaters or furnaces, as a fuel or fuel component for jet engines, and as a solvent for greases and insecticides.

      Kerosene accounts for 10 to 25 percent of the total volume of crude petroleum. It is separated physically from the other portions by fractional distillation. It can also be produced chemically by cracking, or decomposing, the less volatile portions of mineral oils at atmospheric pressure and elevated temperatures.

      Kerosene was first manufactured in the 1850s from coal tar and shale oils, but petroleum became the major source after 1859, when E.L. Drake drilled the first petroleum well in Pennsylvania. Because of its use in lamps (see kerosene lamp), kerosene was the major refinery product until the automobile made gasoline important.

      Chemically, kerosene is a mixture of hydrocarbons; the chemical composition depends on its source, but it usually consists of about 10 different hydrocarbons, each containing 10 to 16 carbon atoms per molecule; the constituents include n-dodecane, alkyl benzenes, and naphthalene and its derivatives. Kerosene is less volatile than gasoline; it boils between about 140 and 320 °C (285 and 610 °F).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kerosene — Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, [Webster s New World College Dictionary, kerosene .] is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros (κηρός wax). The word Kerosene was registered… …   Wikipedia

  • Kérosène — Général No CAS 8008 20 6 No EINECS …   Wikipédia en Français

  • kérosène — [ kerozɛn ] n. m. • 1863; var. kérosine 1862; du gr. kêros « cire » et ène ♦ Pétrole lampant obtenu par distillation des huiles brutes de pétrole. Le kérosène est utilisé pour l alimentation des réacteurs d avions. ● kérosène nom masculin (grec… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Kerosene — Kérosène Kérosène Général No CAS 8008 20 6 No EINECS …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Kerosene — Ker o*sene , n. [Gr. ? wax.] An oil used for illuminating purposes, formerly obtained from the distillation of mineral wax, bituminous shale, etc., and hence called also {coal oil}. It is now produced in immense quantities, chiefly by the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • kerosene — 1852, coined irregularly by Canadian geologist Abraham Gesner (1797 1864), who discovered how to distill it c.1846, from Gk. keros wax + chemical suffix ene. So called because it contains paraffin (hence the British English name, paraffin oil) …   Etymology dictionary

  • kerosene — (also kerosine) ► NOUN ▪ a light fuel oil obtained by distilling petroleum, used especially in jet engines and domestic heating boilers; paraffin oil. ORIGIN from Greek k ros wax …   English terms dictionary

  • kerosene — ☆ kerosene [ker′ə sēn΄, ker΄ə sēn′ ] n. [Gr kēros, wax + ENE] a thin oil distilled from petroleum or shale oil, used as a fuel, solvent, illuminant, etc.; coal oil: also, esp. in scientific and industrial usage, sp. kerosine …   English World dictionary

  • kerosene — (#1 fuel oil)    Flash point generally between 100 and 150° F. Explosive limits of 0.7% to 5.0%. Kerosene consists mostly of C9 through C17 hydrocarbons. In order to be identified as kerosene, a sample extract must exhibit a homologous series… …   Forensic science glossary

  • Kerosene —   A type of heating fuel derived by refining crude oil that has a boiling range at atmospheric pressure from 400 degrees to 550 degrees F.   ***   A light petroleum distillate that is used in space heaters, cook stoves, and water heaters and is… …   Energy terms

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”