Hydrocarbons (1)

Question 1

what is organic chemistry?

Answer 1

branch of chemistry that deals with compounds of carbon, excluding oxides and ionic compounds of carbon based ions

Question 2

what are hydrocarbons

Answer 2

compounds containing carbon atoms bonded to hydrogen atoms

Question 3

what is refining

Answer 3

technology that includes separating physical and chemical processes for separating complex mixtures into simpler mixtures or near-pure components

Question 4

refining - natural gas

Answer 4

extraction: natural pressure underground
physical: condensation and distillation
chemical: removal of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide at a gas plant
uses: heating building, source of ethane, propane, and butane

Question 5

coalbed methane refining

Answer 5

extraction: water removed from underground if necessary
physical: removal and disposal of saline water
chemical: removal of noncombustibles at gas plant
uses: natural gas uses, + production of hydrogen and methanol

Question 6

crude oil refining

Answer 6

extraction: water or gas injection underground
physical: water, sand, and salt removal, and fractional distillation tower
chemical: hydrocracking and catalytic reforming
uses: gasoline, jet fuel, and asphalt

Question 7

heavy oil refining

Answer 7

extraction: steam injection underground
physical: separation from water and solids, fractional distillation
chemical: heavy oil hydrocracking and catalytic reforming
uses: gasoline, jet fuel, and asphalt (same as crude)

Question 8

oil sands refining

Answer 8

extraction: physical mining and in situ steam or hot water injection
physical: hot water extraction and floatation, centrifugation, fractional distillation
chemical: coking, hydrocracking, hydrotreating
uses: synthetic crude used as crude oil

Question 9

coal refining

Answer 9

extraction: surface and underground mines
physical: sorting crushing and/or grinding
chemical: none, or gasification or alternative delivery
uses: energy for producing electricity

Question 10

what is fractionation

Answer 10

taking advantage of the differences in boiling points to physically separate the components

Question 11

what are fractions

Answer 11

product in fractionation process, identified by boiling-point range or # of carbon atoms in molecules
lower boiling points = smaller molecules

Question 12

what are alkanes

Answer 12

-hydrocarbons whose empirically determined molecular formulas indicate that the carbon-to-carbon bonds are only single bonds
- general formula: CnH2n+2
- example of both homologous series and saturated hydrocarbon

Question 13

what is a homologous series

Answer 13

sequence of molecules with similar structure and differing only the number of repeating units (e.g. Ch2)

Question 14

what are saturated hydrocarbons

Answer 14

compounds of carbon and hydrogen containing only carbon-carbon single bonds, with max number of hydrogen atoms bound to each carbon

Question 15

prefix formula (1-10) for carbon atoms and alkanes

Answer 15

meth - 1
eth - 2
prop -3
but - 4
pent - 5
hex - 6
hept - 7
oct - 8
non - 9
dec - 10

Question 16

what are structural isomers?

Answer 16

compounds with same molecular formula but different structures
explain difference in physical and chemical properties
as carbon atoms increase, # of isomers increase

Question 17

what is an alkyl branch?

Answer 17

branch consisting of only carbon and hydrogen atoms
prefix followed by -yl

Question 18

what are cycloalkanes

Answer 18

when all carbon-carbon bonds in a cyclic hydrocarbon are single bonds

Question 19

what are alkenes

Answer 19

hydrocarbons with carbon-carbon double bonds
end in -ene
general formula: Cnh2n
cycloalkanes are isomers are alkenes

Question 20

what is hydrogenation

Answer 20

adding sufficient quantity of hydrogen to convert unsaturated hydrocarbons to saturated ones

Question 21

what are alkynes

Answer 21

• chemical properties explained by presence of triple carbon bonds
• end in yne
• general formula: CnH2n-2

Question 22

what are cycloalkenes

Answer 22

• cycle of carbon atoms with at least one double bond
• isomers of alkynes
• general formula: CnH2n-2

Question 23

what is ethane cracking?

Answer 23

• production of ethene by cracking ethane (large molecules) into smaller hydrocarbons
• ethane separated from gas, piped to plant, and broken down by removal of two hydrogen atoms

Question 24

what are aliphatic hydrocarbons?

Answer 24

broad class including straight or branched chains or rings of alkanes, alkenes and alkynes, but not aromatics

Question 25

what are aromatics

Answer 25

benzene, and al other carbon compounds that contain benzene-like structures and properties
contain benzene ring

Question 26

what is a phenyl group

Answer 26

benzene ring in aromatic, attached as branch on parent chain

Question 27

what is hydrocracking

Answer 27

combination of catalytic cracking and hydrogenation, often with those of complex aromatic compounds
larger molecule + hydrogen = smaller molecules

Question 28

what is catalytic cracking

Answer 28

breaks apart larger molecules with the presence of a catalyst, produce less residual material and more desirable fractions
larger molecules = smaller molecules + carbon

Question 29

what is catalytic reforming?

Answer 29

chemical processes involved in converting molecules in naphtha (gasoline) into aromatic gasoline molecules, have better burning properties
aliphatic molecule = aromatic molecule + hydrogen