Alkanes Flashcards
what are alkanes
saturated hydrocarbons
what is a hydrocarbon
contains hydrogen and carbon only
what does it mean by saturated
each carbon is bonded 4 times with the maximum number of hydrogens possible
what do cycloalkanes have
2 hydrogens per carbon
saturated
functional group isomer of alkenes
where are alkanes found
in crude oil which is a mixture of different length of hydrocarbons
how is crude oil vapourised
using a furnace to 350 degrees
what does the vapourised oil do once it enters the column
it rises through the trays
the longest hydrocarbons don’t vaporise and run down to the bottom
describe the temperature gradient in a fractioning column
cooler at the top
as the vapour rises parts of the mixture condense at different temperatures
due to the different chain lengths = different bp
fractions are drawn at different levels
what happens to shortest hydrocarbons
they don’t condense at 20 degrees so come off as a gas at the top of the column
what is cracking
breaking longer chain alkane into shorter hydrocarbons
what are the two types of cracking
thermal and catalytic
what are the conditions for thermal cracking
high temperature of 1000 degrees and 70 atm pressure
what is the main products of thermal cracking
alkenes
what are alkenes used to make
polymers
e.g. plastic
what are the conditions for catalytic cracking
slight pressure
high temperature of 450 degrees
a zeolite catalyst is used to help lower the temperature needed