Mineral Oil

Mineral oil is a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons obtained from petroleum by intensive treatment with sulphuric and oleum, or by hydrogenation, or a combination, and consisting predominantly of saturated C15-C50 hydrocarbons. Most often, mineral oil is a liquid obtained from refining crude oil to make gasoline and other petroleum products. Mineral oils used for lubrication are known specifically as base oils. More generally, mineral oil is a transparent, colorless oil, composed mainly of alkanes and cycloalkanes, related to petroleum jelly. It has a density of around 0.8–0.87 g/cm3 . Mineral oils selected for a particular lubricant should allow that the lubricant remains fluid over the entire temperature range it may encounter in service. They are categorized into two main groups referred to as MOSH (Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbons) and MOAH (Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons).