What was the primary objective when Edwin Drake drilled the first commercial crude oil well in Pennsylvania in 1859?
Answer
To distill oil to produce kerosene for lighting
The initial focus of early petroleum extraction and distillation was not on fuels suitable for mechanical power, but rather on illumination. Edwin Drake's commercial drilling operation in 1859 was specifically aimed at obtaining crude oil that could be processed to yield kerosene. Kerosene provided an immediate, practical utility by serving as an effective and widespread replacement for traditional oil lamps and candles, which were the standard lighting sources of the era. Gasoline and diesel, at this stage, were considered undesirable, lighter or heavier fractions that were often discarded because there was no established mechanical application demanding their volatility or viscosity.
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