5 Common Uses of Oil

Oil plays a major role in modern society, more than we often realize. Even beyond the most well-known uses, oil is present is many everyday products. Here are five of the most common uses of oil.

1. Fuel

Oil as fuel is the most well-known use of petroleum because it is easily recognizable. In the United States, we depend on gasoline-powered vehicles like cars, buses, trains, and airplanes to get us from point A to point B, which means most everyone is familiar with gasoline and automobile oil.

However, oil does not just fuel transportation. Oil is also used as fuel for heating and electricity. Many homes and business use oil-powered furnaces or use different technologies to convert oil into electricity to power lights and appliances. The heat and light you enjoy in your home or office can be traced back to petroleum.

2. Plastics

Plastic is formed from crude oil that has been refined and subjected to high heat and combined with another treated material to create the polymers used in numerous types of plastic. You can find these finished plastic products everywhere - homes, offices, stores, restaurants, etc.

Plastic is a defining feature of modern life, and it's used in electronics, furniture, dishes, food packaging, cars, building materials, and sports equipment, along with virtually every aspect of daily life. Plus, plastic plays an important role in physical health, as it is a key component in dental and medical supplies like dentures and hearing aids.

Without oil, we wouldn't have all these plastic products we use on a daily basis.

3. Clothing

Beyond all the plastics we use, oil provides even many of our clothing options. Many fibers are petroleumbased and give us materials like spandex, polyester, nylon, and even vegan leather.

The petrochemicals used in these materials are what let our clothing and accessories be lightweight and water-resistant. We can even thank the petrochemicals for how long clothing lasts and for the fact that synthetic clothing doesn't wrinkle or stain as much as cotton clothing.

4. Toiletries

Oil finds its way into beauty products and toiletries in the form of ingredients like propylene glycol and crylates. You'll find that soap, lotion, toothpaste, shaving cream, shampoo, and deodorant are all petroleumbased products. And perfume and cologne rely on petroleum to create long-lasting scents.

Popular cosmetics like foundation, eye shadow, and mascara also make the list of oil products and, of course, a famous petroleum product, petroleum jelly (Vaseline).

Then there's the wax products formed from paraffin wax, which is derived from petroleum. Among these products are commonly used products like lipstick and candles.

5. Gum

Last but not least, petroleum shows up in even the most unexpected of places with chewing gum. While you won't be able to find petroleum on the list of ingredients for gum, you will likely find the term gum base . Gum base is a general term for a base that includes petroleum and waxes.

Chewing gum uses oil to achieve its soft, chewable texture, and polymers derived from petroleum create gum's elastic and long-lasting qualities. But if the thought of oil in your gum troubles you, you don't have to worry. Gum is perfectly safe to chew.

With all these uses of oil in everyday life, it's no wonder the oil industry is booming. And at Biltmore Oil, we are happy to supply homes and business in North Carolina with oil for all their needs. We are environmentally conscience and provide a variety of oil services. Contact ustoday to learn more about the many uses of oil or to order some for your home or business.