what is the name of the process used to separate the components of petroleum
Petroleum Petroleum (from Ancient Greek: petra: "rock" + oleum: "oil"[1][2][3][4][5][6]) is a naturally occurring, yellow-to-black liquid found in geological formations beneath the Earth's surface. It is commonly refined into various types of fuels. Components of petroleum are separated using a technique called fractional distillation i.e. separation of a liquid mixture into fractions differing in boiling point by means of distillation, typically using a fractionating column.