Fuel production efficiency

[Piwoslaw]

Does anyone know much oil is used to produce a gallon of gasoline? A gallon of diesel? And how much energy from other sources goes into their production?
Today RobertSmalls posted this:

Originally Posted by RobertSmalls

According to Wikipedia, "The D.O.E. reports that the lumped average efficiency of electrical production and transmission in the United States, eelectricity, is 0.303 while the efficiency of refining and distributing petroleum, egasoline, is 0.830."

So remember to apply a 17% penalty to gasoline, based on the energy cost of refining and transporting it.

I'm asking because I'd like to have an idea of how much fuel I'm really pulling from the Earth's resources - Pouring 1 gallon of fuel into my tank does not mean that only 1 gallon of oil was extracted, transported and refined.

[Lazarus]

Is this what you need.

What Fuels Are Made from Crude Oil?
After crude oil is removed from the ground, it is sent to a refinery by pipeline, ship, or barge. At a refinery, different parts of the crude oil are separated into useable petroleum products. Crude oil is measured in barrels (abbreviated "bbls").

A 42-U.S. gallon barrel of crude oil provides slightly more than 44 gallons of petroleum products. This gain from processing the crude oil is similar to what happens to popcorn, which gets bigger after it's popped. The gain from processing is more than 6%.

One barrel of crude oil, when refined, produces about 19 gallons of finished motor gasoline, and 10 gallons of diesel, as well as other petroleum products. Most petroleum products are used to produce energy. For instance, many people across the United States use propane to heat their homes.

[Piwoslaw]

That's a great site!
So 42 gallons of crude oil produce 19 gallons of gasoline plus 10 gallons of diesel. And since they are different fractions, then the amount of one can't be reduced in order to produce more of the other? Am I right?

So why is diesel cheaper than gasoline in most parts of the world? Since there is almost twice as much gasoline "in" a barrel of crude than diesel, plus diesel is used in trucks, ships, etc., in much greater amounts than gasoline is used by cars, so there should be less diesel available than gas so it should cost more (by at least a factor of 2 or 3). Or maybe diesel is so much easier to produce, while gasoline is needed for other things?

[Lazarus]

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

So why is diesel cheaper than gasoline in most parts of the world? Since there is almost twice as much gasoline "in" a barrel of crude than diesel, plus diesel is used in trucks, ships, etc., in much greater amounts than gasoline is used by cars, so there should be less diesel available than gas so it should cost more (by at least a factor of 2 or 3). Or maybe diesel is so much easier to produce, while gasoline is needed for other things?

Here's another site you can look at. I don't know about other parts of the world but in the US diesel in more expensive than gasoline. In this area it's about 20 cents. I think the Taxes on diesel are more than gasoline. 7 cents or so here in the US.

Making a gallon of diesel fuel requires 25% more oil and emits 17% more heat-trapping greenhouse gases than gasoline reformulated with MTBE. Similarly, diesel requires 17% more oil and emits 18% more heat-trapping gases than gasoline reformulated with ethanol. This means that diesel fuel's advantages from its higher per-gallon energy content and better performance on greenhouse gases are partially offset by the impact of diesel's fuel-production process.

[bgd73]

interesting stuff.
another note about diesel and gas, even though diesel claiming to use more... it can sit and vibrate on heavy duty applications with no loss, and HUGE work in comparison.

a pinhole in a gas tank drops a car by tens of mpg, and odors everyone around it.

It is kinda like the lose weight for efficency, all while not using enough resources to make a perfect boxer engine for the heavier car, for more passengers, and more chores, and comfort and durability by decades over the rest...one big puny mind we are owned by...called marketing.

woops. I started ranting.

[Bicycle Bob]

Most gasoline has been cracked from heavier fractions of the crude oil, or nudged into reduced volatility because it is one of the preferred standard products. If you start with tar sand or oil shale, you've put a lot of carbon in the air even before you fill your tank. If you don't care about cost, you can make gasoline from coal and water.

[Piwoslaw]

Crossposting:
How much energy does it take to produce a gallon of gasoline?

[NeilBlanchard]

From Wikipedia:

On average, about 19.5 US gallons (16.2 imp gal; 74 L) of gasoline are available from a 42-US-gallon (35 imp gal; 160 L) barrel of crude oil (about 46% by volume), varying due to quality of crude and grade of gasoline. The remaining residue comes off as products ranging from tar to naptha.[9]

[Rokeby]

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

Does anyone know much oil is used to produce a gallon of gasoline?
A gallon of diesel? And how much energy from other sources goes into
their production?

A few years back at PRIUSchat, there was a very interesting thread about
the process of extracting gas and diesel from crude oil. The ratios can be
adjusted.

Refining Processes

[Old Tele man]

...just like nuclear reactions (bombs), making gasoline depends upon whether you build it UP (fusion) or break it DOWN (fission).

...there are MANY ways of making gasoline, some much less costly than others.