1. Oil
What is it good for? Absolutely everything
We use oil for more than just powering our cars and lorries but that is
what springs to mind when you think of the uses of oil. As oil production
reaches a peak and demand for oil exceeds how much we can get out of
the ground we need to think about how we can get the best out of a
limited resource. What would you be prepared to do without?
Oil is essential in modern industrial
farming methods. It provides the
diesel to run the machinery but also it
is used to make many pesticides and
in the production of fertilisers which
uses lots of energy supplied by oil and
gas. More fertilisers are added to the
crops to compensate for poor soil
quality caused by crops not being
rotated any more.
Around 90% of the energy
involved in crop production
comes from oil and gas. One
third is mechanisation and the
remaining two thirds are for
crop production of which a
third is fertilisers alone.Crude oil is refined into several
grades of petroleum. This is the
starting material from which all
plastics and many medicines, drugs
and vitamins are made. Food and
industrial preservatives come from
oil
Roads are paved with bitumen
which is a thick black bottom
fraction from the distillation of
crude oil. It is mixed with gravel
to form asphalt. Bitumen is also
used to waterproof flat roofs and
boats
Most modern fibres such as rayon,
nylon, polyester come from oil
Modern tyres are made
from synthetic rubber
which comes from crude
oil
Paint is a resin that comes
from crude oil. Other oil
based resins include
cosmetics and adhesives
A big user of oil is the chemicals
industry: engineering plastics,
wires, injection moulding,
coatings, lubricants, batteries,
circuit boards, electrical
membranes, electro-optical
devices, spectacle lenses
Solvents are used in paint removal,
computer manufacture, cleaning
metal, dry cleaning
Antifreeze for
anything with an
engine
Ethanol is the largest volume
organic chemical used in
industrial and consumer
products. It is used in
everything from cosmetics and
perfumes to resins and
lacquers
Cars run on petrol or
diesel
We would
not have
computers
without oil