organic test Flashcards
what is crude oil
finite resource found in rocks
mixture of very large number of compounds
what is crude oil made of
remains of ancient biomass consisting mainly of plankton that was buried in mud for millions of years
what are most of the compounds of crude oil
hydrocarbons - molecules made up of hydrogen and carbon only
first 4 alkanes
methane (CH4)
ethane (C2H6)
propane (C3H8)
butane (C4H10)
general formula for the homologous series of alkanes
CnH2n+2n
products of fractional distilation
solvents - nail varnish remover
lubricants - oil for car engines
polymers - PVC
detergents - washing up liquid
how does fractional distillation happen
- crude oil is heated and vaporised
- vapor rises up the fractionating column
- column is hotter at bottom
- hydrocarbons cool as they go up the column and condense at different heights as they have different boiling points
- large molecules, high boiling points, collected at bottom
- this gives fractions which can be used in various ways
types of combustion
complete
incomplete
complete combustion produces
carbon dioxide and water
combustion word equation
methane + oxygen > carbon dioxide + water
combustion symbol equation
CH4 (g) + 2O2 (g) > CO2 + H2O
incomplete combustion produces
carbon or carbon monoxide and water
cracking use
hydrocarbons can be broken down to produce smaller more useful molecules
cracking equation
C10H22 > C8H18 + C2H4
catalytic cracking
hydrocarbon is heated to a high temperature and a catalyst used