organic chemistry- topic 7 Flashcards
what is a hydrocarbon?
a compound of hydrogen and carbon
what is crude oil?
a mixture of compounds (mainly hydrocarbons)
how is crude oil formed?
-formed from the remains of ancient biomass (mainly plankton) buried in mud
-formed under conditions of high temperature and pressure and found in rocks
-finite resource
what are alkanes?
saturated hydrocarbons with the general formula (CnH2n+2)
what are the alkanes?
acronym: monkeys methane
eat ethane
peanut propane
butter butane
what is a homologous series?
series of compounds with the same general formula, same functional groups and similar chemical properties
describe the combustion of hydrocarbons
-exothermic reaction occurring when hydrocarbons are reacted with oxygen
-complete combustion produces carbon dioxide + water (carbon and hydrogen atoms are completely oxidised)
-incomplete combustion produces carbon + carbon monoxide + water
what is the equation for complete combustion?
alkane (fuel) + oxygen –> carbon dioxide + water
what is the equation for incomplete combustion?
fuel –> carbon monoxide + carbon + water
describe the physical properties of alkanes
-first few in series are gases, then change to liquids then solids
-boiling points + viscosity increase as molecules get bigger
-volatility and flammability decrease as molecules get bigger
-poor reactivity
what are the properties of long-chain hydrocarbons?
flammability=
boiling point=
viscosity=
low flammability
high boiling point
high viscosity
what are the properties of short-chain hydrocarbons?
flammability=
boiling point=
viscosity=
high flammability
low boiling point
low viscosity
are hydrocarbons used as fuels? why?
yes, because when they react with oxygen they react with a lot of energy
what is the process of fractional distillation?
- crude oil is heated and vaporised
- vapour rises up the fractionating column
- the column is hotter at the bottom and cooler at the top
- hydrocarbons cool as they go up the column and condense at diff points as they have diff boiling points
- large molecules = high boiling points, collected at bottom
- small molecules = low boiling points, collected at top
- hydrocarbon fraction is collected
- crack the hydrocarbons using high temperatures and either steam or a catalyst
- you are left with smaller, more useful molecules
what fuels do we depend on for our modern lifestyle?
petrol, diesel oil, kerosene, heavy fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gases, are produced from crude oil
what useful materials do our modern life depend on ?
solvents, lubricants,
polymers, detergents are produced by the petrochemical industry
what is cracking?
Hydrocarbons can be broken down (cracked) to produce smaller, more useful molecules.
long chain alkane –> shorter alkane + alkene
what are 2 methods of cracking?
catalytic cracking and steam cracking
what type of reaction is cracking?
thermal decomposition
what is the process of catalytic cracking?
-vaporise the hydrocarbons
-pass over a hot catalyst