Article
Article
Kerosene
Article By:
Ries, Harold C. Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, California.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.363400
A refined petroleum fraction used as a fuel for heating and cooking, jet engines, lamps, and weed burning, and as a base for insecticides. Kerosene, known also as lamp oil, is recovered from crude oil by distillation. It boils in the approximate range of 350–550°F (180–290°C). Most marketed grades, however, have narrower boiling ranges. The specific gravity is about 0.8. Determined by the Abel tester, the flash point is not below 73°F (23°C), but usually a higher flash point is specified. Down to a temperature of −25°F (−32°C), kerosene remains in the liquid phase. Components are mainly paraffinic and naphthenic hydrocarbons which are in the C10–C14 range. A low content of aromatics is desirable except when kerosene is used as tractor fuel.
The content above is only an excerpt.
for your institution. Subscribe
To learn more about subscribing to AccessScience, or to request a no-risk trial of this award-winning scientific reference for your institution, fill in your information and a member of our Sales Team will contact you as soon as possible.
to your librarian. Recommend
Let your librarian know about the award-winning gateway to the most trustworthy and accurate scientific information.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information