Several years ago I read a great article about AbTech. The founder had developed a way to solidify oil slicks so I thought it would be good to see what has happened to this technology, as it was a way to clean up after an oil spillage. Thankfully, we haven’t heard of a major oil tanker disaster for several years - I certainly remember the Exxon Valdez that ran aground in … [Read more...]
Oil Viscosity
This week for the technical article, I am going to describe oil viscosity grades. Several years ago, I decided to learn about them as I have always been curious as to the meaning of the grades on my oilcans! For example, my old Honda used 10W-30 – a multi-grade oil. The viscosity of a liquid is the resistance to deformation when under stress, such as when heat is applied as … [Read more...]
Nexcel, a New Way to Manage Engine Oil
I read a really interesting article in The Economist magazine recently. When we think of technologies developing in the auto industry, we often think about new ways to develop power or reduce fuel consumption. Often we miss the subtle changes that are happening because in the grand scheme of things, they are not exciting or perceived to be not worthy of lots of media attention. … [Read more...]
Just In Time Processes – Oil Extraction
A few weeks ago I wrote an updated article about Just in Time Manufacturing and it's use in the manufacturing of vehicles, mainly the assembly lines. Well, I then read a fascinating article about how this concept was used in another related industry - oil extraction. It seems that over the years, the cost of extracting oil has been rising and so has waste, inefficiences have … [Read more...]
How Much Oil in a Barrel?
Every time the news is on we hear about the price of oil because this commodity is so entrenched in everyone's lives, whether you drive or not. So many products come out of a barrel of oil or use a component refined from crude oil. The barrel as a measurement tool has been around for hundreds of years as it was easy to transport and measure at the same time. However, … [Read more...]