Section 5 - Pgs 70 - 77 Flashcards
What is crude oil?
A mixture of different hydrocarbons.
What is the name for the process of separating different compounds in crude oil?
Fractional distillation
How is crude oil formed?
Over millions of years, high temperatures and pressures cause the buried remains of plants and animals to turn into crude oil.
How does fractional distillation work?
1) Crude oil is heated until most of it is a gas (except bitumen).
2) The gases enter a fractionating column, where the liquid fraction, bitumen, is drained off at the bottom.
3) In the column there is a temperature gradient (hot at the bottom, cooler at the top). The gases travel up through the column.
4) When a fraction reaches a height with a temperature lower than its boiling point, it condenses and the liquid is pumped away from that layer.
How does the length of a hydrocarbon relate to its boiling point?
- Long hydrocarbon = High boiling point
- Short hydrocarbon = Low boiling point
What prevents separated liquid from running back down the fractionating column in fractional distillation?
Bubble caps
How does length of a hydrocarbon relate to colour, viscosity, boiling point and flammability of the hydrocarbon?
The longer the hydrocarbon,
- The darker it is
- The thicker it is
- The higher its boiling point
- The less flammable it is
Where in the fractionating column can short and long hydrocarbons be found?
- Short hydrocarbons = At the top
- along hydrocarbons = At the bottom
What are the fractions in crude oil called?
1) Refinery Gas
2) Gasoline (petrol)
3) Naphtha
4) Kerosene (paraffin)
5) Diesel
6) Fuel Oil
7) Bitumen
How many carbons are in each fraction in crude oil?
Refinery Gas - 3 Gasoline - 8 Naphtha - 10 Kerosene - 15 Diesel - 20 Fuel Oil - 40 Bitumen - 70+
What are the uses of refinery gas?
- Bottled gas
- Heating
- Used in pottery and glass manufacture
What are the uses of gasoline?
- Fuel for cars
What are the uses of naphtha?
Used as a ‘feedstock’ (starting material) to make:
- Plastics
- Dyes
- Drugs
- Explosives
- Paints
What are the uses of kerosene?
- Airplane fuel
- Domestic heating
- Paint solvent
What are the uses of diesel?
- Fuel for diesel engines in cars, trucks, trains, boats.
What are the uses of fuel oil?
- Domestic central heating
- Fuel for large ships
What are the uses of bitumen?
- Road surfacing
- Asphalt for roofs
Is fractional distillation a physical process?
Yes, because there are no chemical reactions.
Does fractional distillation produce enough short-chain hydrocarbons?
No, more are required than can be produced by fractional distillation.
Does fractional distillation produce enough long-chain hydrocarbons?
Yes, it produces more than can be used directly.
What does each fraction in fractional distillation contain?
A mixture of hydrocarbons with similar boiling points.
What is the problem with burning fuels from fractional distillation?
They can produce pollutants when burnt.
What 3 main pollutants are released when fuels are burned?
- Carbon monoxide
- Nitrogen oxides
- Sulphur dioxide
How is carbon monoxide produced (by fuels)?
When hydrocarbon fuels are burnt without enough oxygen - this is incomplete combustion.
Why is carbon monoxide dangerous?
- It is poisonous because it combines with haemoglobin in blood cells, reducing their capacity to carry oxygen.
- A lack of oxygen can lead to fainting, a coma or even death.
How is sulphur dioxide produced (by fuels)?
When fossil fuels are burnt, sulphur impurities become sulphur dioxide.
How are nitrogen oxide fuels produced (by fuels)?
- When fuels are burnt, the temperature may be high enough for nitrogen and oxygen in the air to react.
- This often happens in car engines.
Give 2 examples of nitrogen oxides.
- Nitrogen monoxide (NO)
- Nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
What is cracking?
The splitting of long-chain alkanes into alkenes and short-chain alkanes.
Why is cracking needed?
1) Long-chain alkanes like bitumen are less useful and in small demand than short-chain alkanes like petrol.
2) Alkenes are used for making plastics.
What is the name of the process by which long-chain alkanes are converted into alkenes and short-chain alkanes?
Cracking
What type of a reaction is cracking?
Thermal decomposition (the breaking down of molecules using heat).
In industry, how is cracking done?
- Vaporised hydrocarbons are passed over a powdered catalyst at about 600-700*C
- Catalysts: Silica (SiO2) and Alumina (Al2O3)
What catalysts are used in cracking?
- Silica (SiO2)
- Alumina (Al2O3)
How can paraffin be cracked in the lab?
1) Place some mineral wool soaked in paraffin at the bottom of a horizontal boiling tube and some silica or alumina closer to the top.
2) Connect a delivery tube from the boiling tube to a gas jar upside-down in some water.
3) Alternate between heating the paraffin and the silica or alumina catalyst until the paraffin vaporises and the catalyst glows red.
4) The paraffin is cracked as it passes over the hot catalyst.
5) Small alkanes collect at the front of the boiling tube, while alkene gases travel through the delivery tube and are collected in the gas jar.
(Diagram pg 72)
How do molecule arrangements change when paraffin is heated?
See bottom of pg 72 of revision guide.
What is the symbol equation for the formation of naturally acidic rain?
CO2 + H2O -> H2CO3
What is the symbol equation for the formation of acid rain (sulphuric acid)?
2SO2 + O2 + 2H2O -> 2H2SO4
Why is all rain slightly acidic?
The CO2 in the air reacts with water to produce a slightly acidic solution.
What two pollutants can cause acid rain?
Sulphur dioxide and Nitrogen oxides