Crude oil

• Crude oil


  A fossil fuel found in rocks
• Fossil fuels


  • Natural substances that can be used as a source of energy
• Plankton


  Tiny living plants and animals which float around in oceans and other large bodies of water
• Crude oil formation


  Remains of plankton, as well as other plants and animals, died millions of years ago and were buried in mud
• Fossil fuels


  Coal, oil and gas are called non-renewable fuels
• Fossil fuels take so long to make that they're being used up much faster than they're being formed
• Finite resources


  One day they'll run out
• Crude oil


  Provides the fuel for most modern transport - cars, trains, planes, the lot
• Products from crude oil


  • Diesel oil
  • Kerosene
  • Heavy fuel oil
  • LPO (liquified petroleum gas)
• Petrochemicals


  Compounds that come from crude oil, used as a feedstock to make new compounds for things like polymers, solvents, lubricants, detergents
• All the products you get from crude oil are examples of organic compounds
• Organic compounds are compounds containing carbon atoms
• Most of the organic compounds in crude oil are hydrocarbons
• Hydrocarbons


  • Carbon atoms can bond together to form different groups called homologous series, which contain similar compounds with many properties in common
• Alkanes and alkenes


  Examples of different homologous series
• As the length of the hydrocarbon chain changes


  The properties of the hydrocarbons change
• Shorter hydrocarbon chain


  • More runny (less viscous)
  • Lower boiling points
  • More flammable (easier to ignite)
• The properties of hydrocarbons affect how they're used for fuels