Organic chem: petroleum

• What’s meant by the term fraction

  A mixture of compounds with a narrow range of boiling points
• What is the equation for the incomplete combustion of methane?

  CH₄ + O₂ → C + H₂O
• What is the state of CO₂ at room temperature?

  Gas
• What is the state of CO at room temperature?

  Gas
• What is the state of carbon (C) at room temperature?

  Solid
• What pollutant is produced when fuels containing sulfur are burned?

  Sulfur dioxide
• Why is low-sulfur fuel not economically feasible for power stations?

  Purification is too costly
• How is sulfur dioxide removed from flue gases?

  Using calcium oxide
• What is produced when calcium oxide reacts with sulfur dioxide?

  Calcium sulfite
• What happens to calcium sulfite after oxidation?

  It becomes calcium sulfate
• What can calcium sulfate be used to make?

  Plasterboard
• Why is sulfur dioxide an environmental problem?

  It damages plants and buildings
• What is the equation for the reaction between calcium oxide and sulfur dioxide?

  CaO (s) + SO₂ (g) → CaSO₃ (s)
• What is an environmental disadvantage of using calcium oxide?

  It requires lots of energy
• Why does calcium oxide react with sulfur dioxide?

  CaO is a base reacting with acidic SO₂ to neutralise and remove
• What are greenhouse gases?

  Gases that trap infra-red radiation
• Which gases are considered greenhouse gases?

  Carbon dioxide, methane, and water
• What pollutants do petrol engines produce?

  CO, C, NO, NO₂, unburned hydrocarbons
• What is cracking in the context of hydrocarbons?

  • Breaking C-C and C-H covalent bonds
  • Converts large alkanes to smaller molecules
  • Produces alkenes and branched chain alkanes
• What are the two types of cracking?

  1. Thermal cracking

  • High pressure
  • High temperature
  • Produces mainly alkenes

  1. Catalytic cracking

  • Slight pressure
  • High temperature
  • Uses zeolite catalyst
  • Produces mainly branched chain alkanes and cycloalkanes
• What are the uses of products from cracking?

  • Thermal cracking: Used to make polymers (plastics)
  • Catalytic cracking: Used as motor fuel
• What are the three catalysts used in a catalytic converter

  1. Platinum
  2. palladium
  3. Rhodium
• What does catalytic converter do

  Converts NO and CO to CO2 and N2
• What pollution problem does carbon cause

  1. Asthma
  2. Breathing issues
  3. Global dimming
• what pollution problem does NO cause

  Its a photochemical that causes smog and acid rain
• Advantage of SO2 removal

  Less chance of acid rain
• Disadvantag of using CaO

  CaO needs lots of energy to produce
• what are platinum palladium and rhodium

  heterogenous catalysts