Crude oil Flashcards
How is crude oil formed?
Over millions of years, high temperatures and pressures cause the buried remains of ancient plants and animals to turn into crude oil when mixed with silt on the ocean floor.
What is crude oil?
A mixture of hydrocarbons
Describe how fractional distillation works
1) The oil is heated until most of it has evaporated.
2) These gases enter the fractionating column.
3) In the column, there’s a temperature gradient (hot at the bottom and gradually cooler as you go up).
4) When the substances which make up crude oil reach a part of the column where the temperature is lower than their boiling point, they condense.
5) They can then be collected through small valves attached to the fractionating column.
What do longer hydrocarbons have?
High boiling points. They condense and drain out much later on, near to the top of the column where it’s cooler.
What do bubble caps do?
Stop the separated liquids from running back into the column and remixing.
What are the 6 products of fractional distillation?
Refinery gases, gasoline, kerosene, diesel, fuel oil, and bitumen
What are refinery gases used for?
Domestic heating and cooking
What is gasoline used for?
Fuel in cars
What is kerosene used for?
Airplane fuel
What is diesel used for?
Fuel for larger vehicles e.g. trains
What is fuel oil used for?
Fuel for larger ships and also some power stations
What is bitumen used for?
Surfacing roads and roofs
