Alkanes Flashcards
What is petroleum / crude oil a mixture of
Mainly alkenes
How can the hydrocarbons in crude oil be separated out?
They have different boiling points and can be separated by fractional distillation
What does cracking do
Breaks down longer alkane molecules into shorted alkane molecules and alkenes
Advantages of thermal cracking
A higher yield of alkenes, particularly ethene
What is an advantage of catalytic cracking
Prod ideas a higher yields of branched alkanes, suitable for petrol fuel, and aromatics
What are alkane
Non polar and not very reactive molecules
What are alkanes used for
Fuels
This is because they react exothermically with oxygen
What does complete combustion produce
Carbon dioxide and water
What does incomplete combustion produce
Carbon monoxide or carbon and water
What do catalytic converters do
Remove carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen from car exhaust gases
What do gas flue desulfurisation do?
Removes Sulfur dioxide from industrial waste gases and has contributed to tackling environmental pollution
How to methane react with chlorine
A free radical substitution reaction
