Crude Oil and hydrocarbons

• What is crude oil?

  A finite resource that is found in the Earth's crust. It is the remains of organisms that lived and died millions and millions of years ago.
• Define 'Finite'

  Something that has a limited number of uses before it is depleted
• Crude oil is a complex mixture of....

  Hydrocarbons
• Name 2 things crude oil can be an important source of:

  • Fuels (Petrol, Kerosene, heavy fuel oil)
  • Feedstock for the petrochemical industry
• What is feedstock?

  A raw material used to provide reactants for an industrial reaction
• What is a petrochemical?

  A substance made from crude oil using chemical reactions
• Name 3 other useful substances made from compounds found in crude oil:

  • Solvents
  • Lubricants
  • Detergents
• State the general formula for alkanes:

  CnH2n+2
• State the alkane and their formula:

  CH4- Methane

  C2H6 - Ethane

  C3H8 - Propane

  C4H10 - Butane
• What does it mean when an hydrocarbon is 'saturated'?

  They contain no carbon-to-carbon double bonds, only single bonds.
• Are alkenes or alkanes saturated?

  Alkanes
• Alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons because:

  • Hydrocarbons, because they are compounds containing hydrogen and carbon only
  • Saturated, because their carbon atoms are joined by C-C single bonds
• What is used to separate crude oil into simpler, more useful mixtures?

  Fractional distillation
• Why can Fractional Distillation be used to separate crude oil?

  Because different hydrocarbons have different boiling points
• State the stages of what happens when crude oil is separated using fractional distillation:

  • Heated crude oil enters a tall fractionating column, which is hot at the bottom and gets cooler towards the top
  • Vapours from the oil rise through the column
  • Vapours condense when they become cool enough
  • Liquids are let out of the column at different heights
• Why do small hydrocarbon molecules have low boiling points?

  As they have weak intermolecular forces
• Small hydrocarbons do not ...., but leave the column as ....

  • Condense
  • Gases
• Why do long hydrocarbon molecules have high boiling points?

  As they have strong intermolecular forces
• Long hydrocarbon molecules leave the column as...

  • Hot liquid bitumen
• State the properties of small hydrocarbon molecules:

  • Low boiling points
  • Very volatile
  • Flows easily
  • Ignites easily
• State the properties of large hydrocarbon molecules:

  • High boiling point
  • Not very volatile
  • Does not flow easily
  • Does not ignite easily
• State the acronym for the fractions:

  Lazy - Liquefied petroleum gases

  Penguins - Petrol

  Keep - Kerosene

  Drinking - Diesel

  Hot - Heavy fuel oil

  Beverages. - Bitumen
• What can Liquefied petroleum gases be useful for?

  • Cooking
  • Domestic heating
• What can kerosene be useful for?

  Fuel for aircrafts
• What can heavy fuel oil be useful for?

  • Fuels for ships
  • Fuels for power stations
• What can Bitumen be useful for?

  • Roads
  • Roofs
• State the average temperature of the hottest column in the fractions:

  350C
• State the average temperature of the coolest column in the fractions:

  25C
• What is meant by Hydrocarbon fuels going under complete combustion?

  Burning in a plentiful supply of oxygen or air.
• What 2 products does complete combustion of a hydrocarbon fuel produce?

  Water vapour and carbon dioxide
• Is complete combustion endo or exothermic?

  Exothermic
• What is meant by Hydrocarbon fuels going under incomplete combustion?

  Burning when there is a limited supply of oxygen
• When does complete combustion occur in a bunsen burner?

  When the air hole is fully open (Blue flame)
• When does incomplete combustion occur in a bunsen burner?

  When the air hole is closed (Orange flame)
• What are the products in incomplete combustion?

  • Water vapour
  • Carbon monoxide
  • Carbon
• Less... is released in incomplete combustion

  Energy
• What is cracking?

  A reaction where larger saturated hydrocarbon molecules are broken down into smaller, more useful hydrocarbon molecules
• What do the products of cracking include?

  Alkanes and Alkenes
• What is catalytic cracking?

  A method of cracking which uses a temperature of approximately 550C and a catalyst (zeolite, containing aluminium oxide and silicon oxide)
• What is steam cracking?

  A method of cracking which uses a higher temperature of approximately 850C and no catalyst