Price of Kerosene

Kerosene is a clear, colorless liquid that has a distinct smell. It is a highly flammable and combustible product much like gasoline. And similar to diesel, kerosene also has a heat of combustion around 43MJ/kg.

Kerosene was first used to fuel lamps in 1853. But defects in the lamps caused fire hazards and they became unpopular. In the early 1990's children died from kerosene poisoning because the dangers of kerosene were not yet appreciated. Children would swallow or breathe in the substance causing them to have difficulty breathing, lose their vision and sometimes even vomit blood. This gas was also used to treat standing water during the yellow fever outbreak in 1905. The properties of kerosene in water inhibited mosquitoes for laying eggs on the water surface. But today this is known to be bad toward the environment and potentially hazardous towards public health.

Currently kerosene is used to power jet-engine aircraft, heat buildings, provide transportation and even cook. It is usually regarded as a cheap alternative to other natural gases. Countries like India and Japan heavily rely on this gas in their kerosene heaters and kerosene stoves. Their government had to subsidize the fuel to keep the prices low and affordable to every family (15 cents per liter).

Today in America prices of kerosene are constantly increasing along with crude oil prices. After the start of the war in Iraq, the trade between the two countries began to slow to a trickle. A decrease in our supply and constant demand causes this massive hike in gas prices. The price of kerosene has become a major political issue especially in India.

In 1916 kerosene was about half a cent a liter in the US, but today we pay around 122 cents a liter.

Ada Lau -- 2008