Oil Pollution

Abstract

Petroleum has been formed from the organic remains of dead organisms over different periods in the Earth’s history. These organics have been preserved till the present in fossil form in places where the absence of oxygen has prevented their decomposition. Because different factors figured in the formation and settling of the different sediments, the quality of petroleum is different everywhere it is found. Thousands of different compounds may be present in petroleum. 200–300 compounds are present in any particular grade of crude oil. More than half, 50%-98%, of petroleum consists of hydrocarbons, i.e., compounds that contain carbon and hydrogen alone.