石油冶炼(Oil Refining)

animportantnewindustry,oilrefining,grewafterthecivilwar.crudeoil,orpetroleum-adark,thickoozefromtheearth-hadbeenknownforhundredsofyears,butlittleusehadeverbeenmadeofit.inthe1850ssamuelm.kier,amanufacturerinwesternpennsylvania,begancollectingtheoilfromlocalseepagesandrefiningitintokerosene.refining,likesmelting,isaprocessofremovingimpuritiesfromarawmaterial.

kerosenewasusedtolightlamps.itwasacheapsubstituteforwhaleoil,whichwasbecominghardertoget.soontherewasalargedemandforkerosene.peoplebegantosearchfornewsuppliesofpetroleum.

thefirstoilwellwasdrilledbye.l.drake,aretiredrailroadconductor.in1859hebegandrillingintitusville,pennsylvania.thewholeventureseemedsoimpracticalandfoolishthatonlookerscalledit"drakesfolly".butwhenhehaddrilleddownabout70feet(21meters),drakestruckoil.hiswellbegantoyield20barrelsofcrudeoiladay.

newsofdrakessuccessbroughtoilprospectorstothescene.bytheearly1860sthesewildcattersweredrillingfor"blackgold"alloverwesternpennsylvania.theboomrivaledthecaliforniagoldrushof1848initsexcitementandwildwestatmosphere.anditbroughtfarmorewealthtotheprospectorsthananygoldrush.

crudeoilcouldberefinedintomanyproducts.forsomeyearskerosenecontinuedtobetheprincipalone.itwassoldingrocerystoresanddoor-to-door.inthe1880srefinerslearnedhowtomakeotherpetroleumproductssuchaswaxesandlubricatingoils.petroleumwasnotthenusedtomakegasolineorheatingoil.