OIL Flashcards
What is oil made up of?
hydrocarbons
where do we get oil from?
oil is found underground and is made from the decayed remains of plants and animals which were heated under pressure millions of ears ago
can we use crude oil straight from the ground?
No - it has to be separated into its useful parts called fractions
how do we split crude oil into its ‘fractions’?
we use a process called fractional distillation
fractions of crude oil contain hydrogen, carbon and oxygen.
True or False
FALSE - hydrocarbons only contain hydrogen and carbon
what do we call the majority of hydrocarbons in oil?
Alkanes or Alkenes
Alkanes
what is the formula for alkanes?
CnH2n+2
for example methane is CH4 which contains
1 atom of carbon and
4 atoms of hydrogen (2x1=2 then 2+2=4)
alkanes are SATURATED hydrocarbons.
What does this term mean?
Saturated means that all of the carbon atoms are joined together
what happens during fractional distillation?
the crude oil is heated till it evaporates and as each useful fraction has a different boiling point they then condense at different temperatures and can be collected separately
petrol has a low boiling point and condenses at the top of the distillation column while diesel has a higher boiling point and condenses closer to the heat source.
A fractional distillation column is hot at the top and cool at the bottom.
True or false
False - the heat source is at the bottom so the bottom is very hot and the top is cool
How do we get energy from oil fractions?
we burn them - combustion
name one disadvantage of burning hydrocarbons
it releases pollutants into the air
name two pollutants from burning oil
CO2 - carbon dioxide which is a greenhouse gas and causes global warming
CO - carbon monoxide which is a toxic gas
SO2 - sulphur dioxide which causes acid rain
carbon atoms also get into the air and cause global dimming
when burning oil how do we get carbon dioxide produced?
the hydrocarbons react with the oxygen in the air to for water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2)
how does carbon monoxide form when oil is burned?
carbon monoxide forms when there is not enough oxygen in the furnace to produce carbon dioxide - incomplete combustion
