Oil refining, fules and thermochemistrey Flashcards
what are fossil fules
fossil fules are formed from the remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago
what is natural gas
a mixture of hydrocarbons-primarliy methane
how is methane produced?
- animal waste and dead plants allowed to be decomposed by anaerobic bacteria producing methane
2.naturally prouced in slurry pits,coal mines and refuse dumps
Give an advantage of methane production
methane is a very good fuel
outline a hazard of methane production
accidents have occoured in mines as methane forms an explosice mixture with air and exposives have occoured
give a disatvantage of methane production
its one of the leading gasses that causes greenhouse effect leading to global warming
what is crude oil/petroleum
crude oil is a type of oil that is a mixture of many different hygrocarbons
wha is fractional distillation/fractionation of crude oil
a distillation that is used to separate crude oil into its component hydrocarbons based on their specific molecular mass/boiling point
How is fractional distillation carries out?
The crude oil at base column is heated and mostly becomes a vapour
moved up through the column, the temperture decreases going up. The different factions of hydrocarbons condense into a liquid once they cool below their specific cooling point and are collected on a specific tray
the larger molecules wiht higher boiling points are collected at lower levels. The smaller molecules with lower boiling points are collected at higher levels
Based on what two properties of the hydrocarbons are they separated into their different fractions?
Their boiling points
Their molecular mass
Name the fractions and their uses and their chain length from lightest to heaviest
Refinery Gas C1-C4
-Domestic gas (LPG)
Light gasoline C5-C10
-Petrol for cars
Naphtha C7-C10
-Petrol for cars
-Feedstock for the petrochemical industry to make plastics, solvents,detergents
Kerosene Paraffin Oil
C10-C14
-Fuel for jet aircraft
-Oil for home central heating
Gas Oil (Diesel oil)
C14-C49
-Diesel for vehicles
Lubricant for engines
Residue
C35 and higher
Bitumen for road surfacing, roofing and waterproofing
why is the bottom fraction known as the residue fraction?
this is the fraction left over as a liquid at the bottom of the fractionating column and the other more volatile fractions turn to gasses and travel upwards
what does LPG stand for
liquid petroleum gas
what are the main components of LPG
what is LPG used for
propane and butane mixture
it is sold as domestic gas for heating and cooking
what are mercaptans and why are they used
mercaptans are sulfur containing compounds
they are added to natural gas(methane) and liquid petroleum gas to give them a unpleasent smwll to warn of gas leaks
what fractions in fractional distillation can be used as petrol
- light gasoline
- Naphtha
what is petrol composed of?
a mixture of different hydrocarbons,mostly chain lenght C5-C10 alkanes
How is petrol used as motor fuel?
In the engine of a car, a mixture of petrol and oxygen is ignited by spark plugs
the ‘explosion’ provides power to turn the wheels
what is auto-ignition/ knocking of the engine? why is it bad for the engine
The premature ignition of he petrol-air mixture before a spark is produced by spark plugs.
it results in loss of power and damage the engine
what property of petrol leads to auto-ignition?
petrol containing long unbranched straight chained alkanes eg heptane
what is ment by octane number
measure of a tendency of a fuel to resist auto ignition
factors affecting a fuels octane number
lenght of chain- shorter chain= better octane number
degree of branching- the more branched= the higher octane number
cyclic structure- cyclic compounds hacr a higher octne number than straight chain
how is a fuel given an octane number, name the compounds that have the octane number of 0 and 100
two refrence compounds are used
Heptane has a octane number of 0
2,2,4-teimethylpentane has a octane number of 100the performance of the fuel is compared with know mixtures of heptane and 2,2,4 trimethylpentane and given a suitable octane number
why is lead no longer added to petrol to increase octane number?
lead is harmful to the enviorment and peoples health
lead poisond the catalytic converter in cars
name the three processes to improve the octane number/ avoid adding lead/ reduce its tendency to auto-idnite
isomerisation
dehydrocyclisation
catalytic cracking
what is isomerisation? breifly describe the process
Isomerisation involves the changing straight chain alkanes into branched compounds with the same molecular formula but different structural formula.
straight chain alkanes are heated causinf chains to break
What is dechydrocyclisation?
dehydrocyclisation is the use of a catalyst to cause a straight chained hydrocarbon lose its hydrogen forming a ringed compound
give a second advantage of peforming dehydrocyclisation aside from increasing octane number. Name the used of that product
hygrogen is also produced
hydrogen can be used for
-ammonia production
-make margarine
-a fuel