Coal oil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coal oil is an oil used for illuminating purposes. It is sometimes confused with kerosene or lamp oil, but coal oil was obtained from the destructive distillation of cannel coal, mineral wax, and bituminous shale, and hence called coal oil. A special type of coal known as cannel coal is required to produce it.
Coal oil was first produced in 1851 by Irish immigrant miners at the Victoria Coal Mines near Cloverport, Kentucky.
It consists mainly of several hydrocarbons of the alkane series, having from 10 to 16 carbon atoms in each molecule, and having a higher boiling point (175–325°C) than gasoline or the petroleum ethers, and a lower boiling point than the oils. See also kerosene.
[edit] External links
- Kentucky Historical Marker Database [1]