Petroleum, the result of transformations of organic matter over millions of years, is a mixture of a large number of compounds. This crude material has to be refined and separated into valuable products such as transportation fuels, basic organics, and other chemicals. Petroleum-derived products listed under NAICS code 324 include gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, fuel oils, lubricating oils and greases, and asphalt and asphalt products. Coal products include coke oven and blast furnace products (except for those made in steel mills) such as coke, crude oil, and so on. The growth of chemical engineering as a distinct engineering discipline is in large part due to these needs in petroleum processing and refining [2]. Processing of conventional fossil resources such as petroleum and coal, as well as nonconventional resources such as tar sands and oil shale, creates many employment opportunities for chemical engineers.
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