crude oil, hydrocarbon, fractional distillation and cracking

• describe crude oil

  finite resource of the remains of dead organic matter mostly plankton buried under high temperature and pressure
• describe hydrocarbons

  molecules made of only hydrogen and carbon atoms
• give affects of increasing hydrocarbon chain length

  • more viscous
  • higher bp and mp
  • less flammable
• describe process of fractional distillation for hydrocarbons

  1. oil heated into fractionating column ( hot at bottom and cool at top)
  2. gas cool and condense into fractions
• give uses of products of fractional distillation of crude oil

  • fuels
  • feedstock for petrochemical industry
• describe cracking


  splitting of longer hydrocarbon chains to shorter hydrocarbon chains producing an alkane and an alkene through catalytic and steam
• describe catalytic cracking

  1. heat and vaporise long hydrocarbon
  2. pass over hot powdered aluminium oxide
  3. long chain hydrocarbon split
• describe steam cracking

  1. heat and vaporise long hydrocarbon
  2. mix with steam and heat to high temperatures
  3. long chain hydrocarbons split