Crude Oil and Fuels

• Crude Oil is:


  formed from fossilised remains of plankton

  found in porous rocks in the Earth's crust

  a finite resource used to produce fuels and other chemicals
• large hydrocarbons

  high viscosity

  high boiling point

  less volatile

  less flammable
• Fractional distillation


  crude oil is heated until it evaporates

  vapour moves up column

  top of column is colder than bottom

  shorter hydrocarbons reach top before the condense

  longer hydrocarbons condense at higher temperatures at bottom
• Alkanes


  only contain single bonds- saturated

  unreactive but burn well

  formula is CnH2n+2
• order of alkanes:


  methane, ethane, propane, butane
• during combustion of hydrocarbon fuels:


  both carbon and hydrogen are oxidised

  energy is released

  waste products are produced