AbstractsEarth & Environmental Science

"Petroleum Is a mixture of hydrocarbons. It is a liquid varying from colorless, through yellow and brown to black. It varies from 1.0 to 0.80 in specific gravity, which corresponds to 10° to 45° Beaume. It varies widely in physical properties, such as viscosity, ignition point, polarization of light, etc. Chemically it is composed essentially of carbon and hydrogen, but usually contains impurities such as sulphur and nitrogen. The carbon and hydrogen combine with each other to form certain series, or "chains" – Chemical and Physical Nature, p. 1.