Crude oil

• What is crude oil?

  A mixture of hydrocarbons
• Refinery gases

  Domestic heating and cooking
• gasoline/petrol

  fuel for cars
• kerosene

  aircraft fuel
• diesel

  fuel for large ships and trains + gas
• fuel oil

  fuel for large ships and some power stations
• bitumen

  road surfaces + roof
• complete combustion of hydrocarbon

  hydrocarbon + oxygen -> carbon dioxide + water
• incomplete combustion of hydrocarbon

  hydrocarbon + oxygen -> carbon monoxide + water
• oxides from car engines

  • temp is high enough to allow nitrogen and oxygen from air to react forming oxides of nitrogen
• sulfur dioxide from combustion of impurities

  if fuel contains sulfur , sulfur dioxide gas is formed when burned
• how does cracking convert long chain alkanes into alkenes and shorter chain alkanes?

  temp: 600-700 degrees

  catalyst : silica/alumina
• Order of fractions

  1. Refinery gases
  2. Gasoline/petrol
  3. Kerosene
  4. Diesel
  5. Fuel oil
  6. Bitumen
• Fractional Distillation:

  • fractional distillation
  • Crude oil heated In a column to a vapour
  • Column is hotter at the bottom than the top
  • hydrocarbons condense at different heights depending on their boiling point
  • Short hydrocarbons have lower BP and rise to the top
• Importance and necessity of cracking :

  Produces shorter chain ALKANES = fuels

  alkenes = polymers to make plastics