Crude Oil and Fuels Flashcards
What are fossil fuels?
Give three examples
- Fuels are substances that release energy when burned in air or oxygen
- Coal, natural gas (methane) and oil
How is crude oil formed?
Remains of sea plants and animals that have fallen to the ocean floor
Over million of years they are buried deeper and chemical changes forms the crude oil and gas
Since they are less dense, they movemove upwards through permeable rock until they hit impermeable rock and can’t move further
What is crude oil?
Crude oil is a complex mixture of compounds requiring refining before use
What are hydrocarbons?
Compounds containing only the elements hydrogen and carbon
What is a fraction?
They are mixtures of substances of similar size and similar boiling point
How is crude oil separated by fractional distillation?
- Vapourised crude oil enters at the bottomof the column where it is hottest
- As it is heated, substances with small molecules will boil first into a gas a nd condense at the top
- Substances with larger molecules have higher boiling points, therefore condensing futher down, creating different fractions
Are alkanes saturated or unsaturated?
What does this mean?
Saturated, the molecules contain only single covalent bonds between atoms (no double bonds)
What is the general formula for an alkane?
CnH2n+2
What are the properties of short chain hydrocarbons?
- Smaller, lighter molecules with weaker intermolecular forces
- Low boiling points
- Very volatile (tendency to turn into a gas)
- Low viscosity (runny)
- Ignites easily and burns cleanly
What are the properties of long chain hydrocarbons?
- Longer, heavier molecules with stronger intermolecular forces
- Higher boiling point
- Low volatility
- High viscosity (thick)
- Harder to ignite, smokier flame
Combustion reactions are oxidation reactions…why?
EXATARA
They involve the addition of oxygen to a substance
energy is released
What are the products of complete combustion?
And incomplete combustion?
Carbon dioxide and water
Carbon monoxide and water
+
Carbon and water
How is sulphur dioxide produced in combustion?
- All fossil fuels contain sulphur as an impurity
- This reacts with oxygen when we burn the fuel and forms sulphur dioxide
- This is a poisonous and acidic gas
S + O2 = SO2
How is nitrogen oxide produced in combustion?
It is formed inside an engine from the spark from the ignition
The high temperatures causes the oxygen and nitrogen to react together
How are particulates produced in combustion?
- Diesel engines burn hydrocarbons with bigger molecules than petrol engines, which often lead to incomplete combustion
- This produces tiny solid particles containing carbon and unburned hydrocarbons called particulates