Did you know that Alexander the Great was most probably the first „European” who met with oil? „...On the way to Babylon they saw a crack on the ground next to the road, where black crude oil was coming out. This crude oil is very similar to the asphalt, but it is very susceptible to fire, and can catch fire even before it indeed reached the oil …” (Plutarch, Life of Alexander the Great)
Did you know that crude oil was applied during the Middle Ages also as a medicine? „...I saw a well where oil was coming out. This type of oil can not be eaten but excellent for lighting, and itchy camels are treated with this as medicine.” (Marco Polo: Journey to China)
Did you know that in 1914 the oil viscosity was measured by the speed how it could be poured out of the measuring vessel? Those days the motor oils should meet the following parameters: low friction coefficient, free of acids, liquid also during winter.
Did you know that one of the potential theories for the evolution of crude oil is that a couple of hundred million years ago dead plankton and plants were transformed to an oil-like liquid due to high pressure of underground layers, bacteria living in air-free environment, some metals and eventual radioactive radiation?
Did you know that Roger Bacon predicted as early as in the 13th century that „man will be able to construct machines that can drive our ships faster the rowing teams, and cars will move with unimaginable speed without animal power.”?
Did you know that there are oil wells that can operate based on a principle similar to that of the soda water bottle? It may happen that crude oil can come up to the surface due to the pressure of gas accumulating in the same reservoir, just like as carbon dioxide can push the water out of the bottle. In this case all we have to do for producing the oil is simply to open the „tap” i.e. the gate valve.
Did you know that the first oil refinery in Bratislava was founded in 1895? Its main products at that time were (used for lighting purposes), paraffin for producing candles and grease as lubricant for cart wheels. It is interesting that ice was a by-product and it was used for cooling foodstuff.
Did you know that during the 19th century gasoline produced by the first oil refineries was only a so-called ballast product? Large –scale car manufacturing began only during and after the first world war, thus a key problem of the oil refineries was resolved, namely what to do with the gasoline. Until then the refiners simply poured out and, using the volatility as a ”solution”, simply let the gasoline to evaporate.
Did you know that the first „crude oil pipeline” in the territory of present Slovakia was built from the Duna river jetty to APOLLO crude oil refinery, and its total length was only 250 meters? This pipeline was a technical innovation those days and crude oil was pumped out from tanker ships arriving from Halic (Romania) and the Caucasus through this line into the storage tanks of the refinery.
Did you know that the crude oil is a mixture of gases and hydrocarbons in fluid and solid state and with colour spectrum from light yellow to complete black, containing 80-85 % carbon, 10-15 % hydrogen, 4-7 % sulphur and some nitrogen?
