4b Flashcards
Crude oil
Mixture of hydrocarbons
Crude oil separation
- It is heated, vaporised in a fractional distillation tower (hotter at the bottom, cooler at the top)
- Gases travel until the temperature is lower than the boiling point, then they turn into a liquid
(except natural gases, which stay as gases and bitumen that comes off at the bottom and never turns into a gas)
The boiling point and viscosity decrease as you go down
Flammability increases as you go up
Crude oil fractions
- Natural gases
- Petrol / Gasoline
- Kerosine
- Diesel
- Fuel oil
- Bitumen
Natural gases
Home heating
Petrol / Gasoline
Car fuel
Kerosene
Plane fuel
Diesel
Bus/Lorrie fuel
Fuel oil
Boat/Power station fuel
Bitumen
Roads
Fuel
A substance that releases energy when burnt
Nitrogen oxide formation
- In car engines
- If the temperature is high enough, Nitrogen in the air reacts with oxygen to form nitrogen oxygen
Sulfur dioxide formation
- Fuels can contain impurities such as sulfur
- When these impure fuels are burnt, sulfur dioxide is produced
Cracking
Spliting larger alkanes(less value) into smaller alkanes(more value) and alkenes (and/or hydrogen)
Requires: Heat(600-700 ºC), Catalyst(silica or alumina)
Longer alkane –> Shorter Alkane + Alkene
Why is cracking useful
- Produces smaller, more valuable in demand hydrocarbons.
- Less demand for longer alkanes
- That are used for fuels or polymers