2020 is an extraordinary year, because of COVID-19's invasion, all mankind has suffered heavy losses. China was the first country to deal with and control the epidemic, which made China people very proud. Although the outbreak just started, the response was timely and did not further expand the epidemic. At the end of the article, there is my personal summary of the key points of the article. If you are in a hurry, you can skip to the end and read the summary. )

During the Chinese New Year, everyone travels less, mostly at home, avoiding contact with others. At that time, gasoline prices became very cheap, and many people lamented that they had not seen such low oil prices for a long time. The rising oil prices in recent years have finally bowed their heads in the face of the epidemic and dare not be proud.

At first, I thought it was because people all over the country traveled less and used less gasoline, so the price naturally came down. After all, petroleum, the raw material of gasoline, is a non-renewable resource. Use less, the price will only go up in the future, and it is impossible to go down. Therefore, human beings are constantly choosing and developing new energy sources, on the one hand, to avoid the emission of carbon dioxide, and on the other hand, because oil is a non-renewable resource, which will be used up one day.

However, I was shocked by a news in April. US crude oil futures prices fell below zero yuan to close at -37.63 USD/barrel. Although the futures price is not the spot price, it also reflects the depressed state of crude oil. This news aroused my concern about oil, so I went to learn more about oil.

You may find that I just said oil and crude oil. So first of all, let's clarify the relationship between the two.

Petroleum is usually a mixture of naturally occurring gaseous, liquid and solid hydrocarbons. It is a mixture of alkanes, cycloalkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons and olefins.

Crude oil generally refers to crude oil directly mined from underground or seabed. It is a dark brown viscous oily liquid with green fluorescence and special smell.

But the oil we are used to talking about is actually the definition of crude oil, that is, it only refers to viscous oily liquid. But the definition of oil is actually a little bigger than crude oil. Because oil contains not only liquid crude oil, but also other hydrocarbons in gas and solid state.

Petroleum products can be found in all aspects of our lives and are not only used as fuel. So suppose one day we run out of oil, then we not only lose one of the most commonly used fuels, but also affect our travel. But life may be affected.

Let's look at petroleum products. The first one just mentioned fuel, from boilers and oil lamps to airplanes and ships, all need to use fuel to play a role. After oil is treated by various physical and chemical methods, different fuels can be obtained, and various fuels can meet various instruments and equipment.

The second is asphalt. In our city, the main roads are paved with asphalt. Because paving with asphalt has many advantages, such as smooth surface, comfortable driving, low vibration, low noise, wear resistance, no dust, easy cleaning, short construction period, easy maintenance and easy recycling. These are all advantages.

The third is lubricating oil. Where there is friction between our vehicles and all kinds of machinery at home, as long as lubricating oil is applied, the friction can be reduced, thus reducing wear and tear, prolonging service life and using more smoothly. In addition, it also has the functions of heat dissipation, insulation and sealing. Even the vaseline we use belongs to lubricating oil, but we will make it more suitable for human use.

The fourth is the solvent. In the chemical industry, this is indispensable. Besides preparing various reagents, they can also be washed by their reactivity or solubility. For example, when we get paint, we can clean it with gasoline or kerosene.

Since we need oil so much, let's explore the origin of oil. To tell the truth, there is no definite conclusion so far. The two most mainstream theories are biological oil generation theory (organic origin theory) and abiotic oil generation theory (inorganic origin theory). Let's take a look separately.

Theory of biological oil generation (theory of organic genesis): This theory holds that oil is buried in thick sedimentary rocks after the death of ancient organic matter (animals and algae) (sedimentary rocks are organic matter that is continuously decomposed after the death of a large number of animals and plants, mixed with sediments or carbonate sediments), and mixed with sludge after a long geological period.

Under high temperature and pressure, the underground gradually transforms, first forming waxy oil shale, and then degenerating into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons. Because these hydrocarbons are lighter than the nearby rocks, they penetrate upward into the nearby rocks until they penetrate into the tightly impermeable rocks above, and the rocks themselves are empty. Oil that slowly gathers together forms an oil field.

This theory can be said to be the most mainstream, and it is also used in our textbooks to tell us the cause of oil. So we all know from childhood that oil is a non-renewable energy source and will be used up one day. We need to save energy and reduce energy consumption. So if one day I tell you that oil is inexhaustible, or inexhaustible in a short time, how would you feel? Please look at another theory.

Abiotic oil-forming theory (inorganic genetic theory): This theory is actually a developing theory, because scientists believe that there are loopholes in the biological oil-forming theory, so they have been studying the causes of oil. Dr. Cui Yongqiang from China Daqing Oilfield Exploration and Development Research Institute once pointed out that in astronomy, geology, scientific experiments and exploration and development practice, we found that the large-scale existence of hydrocarbons is not based on the existence of living substances. For example, a large amount of methane was found on Titan.

And there is another point that can prove that the theory of biological oil generation is wrong, that is entropy, which is the second law of thermodynamics. The calculation of chemical thermodynamics shows that the chemical potential of all biomolecules is less than that of methane and decreases with the increase of polymerization degree. On the contrary, the molecular chemical potential of hydrocarbons above ethane is greater than that of methane, and it increases with the increase of polymerization degree. The evolution of life molecules to hydrocarbon molecules is a process from low chemical potential to high chemical potential, which violates the second law of thermodynamics and the spontaneous process will inevitably evolve in the direction of entropy increase.

Dr. Cui Yongqiang also published Modern Petroleum Geology-Mantle Source Oil and Gas Theory to explain the formation of oil, pointing out that oil and magma are different products of mantle fluid action, both of which are derived from hydrocarbon-alkali fluid. Hydrocarbon components in hydrocarbon-alkali fluids are the source of mantle-derived oil and gas. Mantle source oil and gas is the core of modern petroleum geology.

In the simplest terms (please search the paper yourself if you want to see the specific principle), it is the conditions of high temperature and high pressure in the mantle that make oil form. Then, because of crustal movement, hydrocarbon-alkali fluid is enriched to the vacant position.

Generally speaking, according to the current scientific cognition, the theory of biological oil generation that we used to know has actually been overthrown. Moreover, according to the current situation of oil exploitation, the output of oil will only increase. We have never heard that the oil field has been mined out.

However, this does not mean that we can squander petroleum energy at will, because the increase of carbon dioxide does have a great impact on our environment. From the perspective of environmental protection, let's really reduce the burning of petroleum energy. As for the reduction of car trips caused by this year's epidemic, we can actually see the improvement of the environment. So no matter how high the oil price is, please start with me!

Personally, I think this is a summary of a key point:

1. Petroleum is usually a mixture of naturally occurring gaseous, liquid and solid hydrocarbons. It is a mixture of alkanes, cycloalkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons and olefins.

2. Crude oil generally refers to crude oil directly mined from underground or seabed. It is a dark brown viscous oily liquid with green fluorescence and special smell.

3. But the oil we are used to talking about is actually the definition of crude oil, which only refers to viscous oily liquid. But the definition of oil is actually a little bigger than crude oil. Because oil contains not only liquid crude oil, but also other hydrocarbons in gas and solid state.

Petroleum products are everywhere in our lives. The first is fuel oil, the second is asphalt, the third is lubricating oil and the fourth is solvent.

5. The two most mainstream theories about the origin of oil are biological oil generation theory (organic oil generation theory) and abiotic oil generation theory (inorganic oil generation theory).

6. The theory of biological oil generation (organic origin theory) refers to that after the death of ancient organic matter (animals and algae), it was gradually transformed into oil due to the underground high temperature and high pressure.

7. Abiotic oil generation theory (inorganic genetic theory) refers to the conditions of high temperature and high pressure in the mantle, which make oil form. Then, because of crustal movement, hydrocarbon-alkali fluid is enriched to the vacant position.

8. According to the current scientific cognition, the theory of biological oil generation that we used to know has actually been overthrown. However, this does not mean that we can squander petroleum energy at will, because the increase of carbon dioxide does have a great impact on our environment. From the perspective of environmental protection, let's really reduce the burning of petroleum energy.