Kerosene is most commonly know as rocket fuel and the fuel that lights small, antique lamps. It is very flammable and combustible and is also quite toxic if swallowed or absorbed into the skin. Given that some people are still advising others to use this as a topical treatment for skin and hair parasites like scabies and lice, it is important for people to learn all that they can about the composition of kerosene. With close to 20 billion gallons of this substance being used every year, it is vital for all consumers to know how to use it properly and to understand which applications are ill-advised.
One thing to note about this substance is that its composition greatly determines how it can be used. Having been around for countless decades, it gets its name from the Greek word keros, which means wax. It is an incredibly waxy substance that is produced via the distillation process that is used to refine crude oil. The process that is used to distill keros is called fractional distillation.
This creates a thin, clear oil that is approximately 0.81 grams per cubic centimeter in overall density. For paraffin wax, this density is just 0.8 grams per cubic centimeter or centimeters cubed. Although keros and paraffin are nearly exact matches, the medium for the two is often considered by manufacturers to be 0.81.
The greater the density of a fuel, the larger the amount of fuel that can be stored within a tank of any size. Moreover, the more fuel mass that can pass through any fuel pump. This is vital information for all those working in industries that require very accurate and precise calculations for optimizing both power and weight. There are a number of industries that are heavily reliant upon kerosene as a fuel. For instance, rocket scientists will need to know how much fuel their rockets can transport safely in order to ensure adequate amounts of a complete trip.
Keros was actually discovered quite a very long time ago and thus, the registration of the distillation process is not really attributed to the person who used it first. Instead, a famous scholar from Persia named Razi was the first to record the mathematics and specifics of keros distillation. In 1854, a man named Abraham Gesner registered for a trademark for this product which eventually became general trademark.
There are a number of ways in which keros can be used to fight parasites and infestations despite its high levels of both flammability and toxicity. You certainly don’t want to eat or apply to your skin, but you can use it to treat external infestations of mosquitoes, ants, bed bugs, and other insects. This solution is so thick that it blocks their respiratory processes, thereby smothering them.
This is also one of the most effective cleaning agents for heavy machinery and other, metal equipment. For instance, if you find that there is a tremendous build up of lubricant oil on your bicycle chain, this is definitely the solution to reach for. Once it has been applied, it will quickly break this build up down so that it wipes away cleanly.
In industrial and commercial applications, it also acts as a very effective fuel barrier. For instance when fuels must be kept separated, keros can be added to ensure that these are not contaminated or adulterated as they move through a hose. This has real applications within the field of rocket science.
