Fractional distillation Flashcards
Describe how to separate salty and rocky water
- Grind the rocks in a bowl
- Put in the water
- Put the mixture into filter paper in a funnel and a conical flask. It collects salt water and leaves the rocks
If I have a mixture of rocky salt water, what is the solute, solvent and solution?
The solute is the salt
The solvent is the water
The solution is the salt water
What does soluble/insoluble mean?
Soluble-Able to be dissolved
Insoluble-Unable to be dissolved
What is crude oil, what does it do and what does it look like?
Unprocessed oil. It provides us with hydrocarbons and it is dark with a tar like consistency
What does it mean if hydrocarbons have weak intermolecular forces?
It doesn’t take much energy for the molecules to separate from one another in the liquid phase and transition to the gas phase. They have a low boiling point.
What might make the intermolecular forces stronger?
The number of atoms in a molecule.
What might make the boiling point higher?
The number of carbons in a hydrocarbon
Hydrocarbons are volatile. What does this mean?
Because of their weak intermolecular forces, hydrocarbons are volatile. This means many of the molecules evaporate at room temperature.
What 4 hydrocarbons are gases at room temperature?
Methane, Ethane, Propane and Butane.
What are the different hydrocarbons in crude oil used for?
Fuels, chemicals and plastics
What is the process that seperates the different fractions?
Fractional distillation
Is it smaller or longer molecules that have a higher boiling point?
Longer
Is it hotter at the top or bottom of the column (that represents the different boiling points)
Bottom
Describe the fractions at the top of the column
Low boiling point
Describe the process of fractional distillation
Crude oil enters the column at the bottom. It is heated and turned into a gas. The different fractions rise. The top of the column is colder than the bottom. When the fraction reaches its boiling point, it condenses and is tapped off.
