What is Paraffin Oil?
Paraffin oil, known as kerosene in Australia and the United States and stove oil in Canada, is an inflammable liquid hydrocarbon burned as fuel. It is most commonly used to power jet engines for aircraft, but can also be used for heating, lighting, and cooking. Paraffin oil is refined from petroleum and is relatively cheap to produce. Paraffin oil was first distilled by geologist Abraham Gesner in 1807 in New Brunswick, Canada, from a type of asphalt called Albertite. As the 19th century progressed, new sources of paraffin oil were discovered, and its production became more commercialized and widespread. Gesner founded the Kerosene Gaslight Company in 1850, and the following year, Scottish chemist James Young began distilling paraffin oil from local Torbanite coal. In 1856, Polish chemist Ignacy Łukasiewicz discovered an even cheaper method of refining paraffin oil. The low prices and availability of the new fuel led to the decline of the whaling industry throughout the latter half of
