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Crude Oil and Fractional Distillation
THE FORMATION OF CRUDE OIL
- CRUDE OIL is a type of FOSSIL FUEL formed from ancient biological materials like PLANKTON which were buried in mud and subjected to high pressures and temperatures for millions of years.
- It can now be found in rocks and which can be drilled to extract it.
- It is considered a FINITE RESOURCE (NON-RENEWABLE FUEL) because it takes over MILLIONS OF YEARS to form.
- Crude oil is a MIXTURE of many different compounds, most of which are HYDROCARBONS.
- Hydrocarbons are COMPOUNDS made of HYDROGEN and CARBON atoms ONLY.
- The components in the crude oil can be separated using FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION.
FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION OF CRUDE OIL
FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION is the method used to separate the MIXTURE OF HYDROCARBONS in crude oil.
The process includes:
HEATING AND VAPORISATION
- Crude oil is HEATED until most hydrocarbons turn into GAS.
- These gases enter a FRACTIONATING COLUMN where there's a TEMPERATURE GRADIENT (hot at the bottom, cooler as you go up).
SEPARATION BY BOILING POINTS
- LONGER HYDROCARBONS with HIGHER boiling points CONDENSE back into liquids at the LOWER part of the column.
- SHORTER HYDROCARBONS with LOWER boiling points travel further up and condense at higher levels.
- The different hydrocarbon fractions are collected at various levels, each with a similar boiling points and HYDROCARBON LENGTH.
PRODUCTS FROM DISTILLATION
- The FRACTIONS produced from the fractional distillation include LPG, Petrol, Kerosene, Diesel, Heavy Fuel Oil and Bitumen.
- The fractions can then be processed to produce fuels and feedstock for the PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY.
- Many useful materials on which modern life depends on are produced by the petrochemical industry, such as SOLVENTS, LUBRICANTS, POLYMERS and DETERGENTS.
BOILING POINTS OF HYDROCARBONS
Fractional distillation relies on the differences in boiling points to separate components. The TEMPERATURE GRADIENT is crucial as it allows the hydrocarbons to condense at the right levels, to ensure effective separation.
The SHORTER CHAINED hydrocarbons like the ones in LPG and Petrol have a LOWER BOILING POINT because there are WEAKER INTERMOLECULAR FORCES between the molecules which don’t need a lot of energy to break.
This means their BOILING POINTS are LOWER, so they are collected at HIGHER LEVELS in the fractionating column because the temperatures further up are COOLER.
The opposite can be said for the LONGER CHAINED HYDROCARBONS.
Crude Oil and Fractional Distillation
THE FORMATION OF CRUDE OIL
- CRUDE OIL is a type of FOSSIL FUEL formed from ancient biological materials like PLANKTON which were buried in mud and subjected to high pressures and temperatures for millions of years.
- It can now be found in rocks and which can be drilled to extract it.
- It is considered a FINITE RESOURCE (NON-RENEWABLE FUEL) because it takes over MILLIONS OF YEARS to form.
- Crude oil is a MIXTURE of many different compounds, most of which are HYDROCARBONS.
- Hydrocarbons are COMPOUNDS made of HYDROGEN and CARBON atoms ONLY.
- The components in the crude oil can be separated using FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION.
FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION OF CRUDE OIL
FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION is the method used to separate the MIXTURE OF HYDROCARBONS in crude oil.
The process includes:
HEATING AND VAPORISATION
- Crude oil is HEATED until most hydrocarbons turn into GAS.
- These gases enter a FRACTIONATING COLUMN where there's a TEMPERATURE GRADIENT (hot at the bottom, cooler as you go up).
SEPARATION BY BOILING POINTS
- LONGER HYDROCARBONS with HIGHER boiling points CONDENSE back into liquids at the LOWER part of the column.
- SHORTER HYDROCARBONS with LOWER boiling points travel further up and condense at higher levels.
- The different hydrocarbon fractions are collected at various levels, each with a similar boiling points and HYDROCARBON LENGTH.
PRODUCTS FROM DISTILLATION
- The FRACTIONS produced from the fractional distillation include LPG, Petrol, Kerosene, Diesel, Heavy Fuel Oil and Bitumen.
- The fractions can then be processed to produce fuels and feedstock for the PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY.
- Many useful materials on which modern life depends on are produced by the petrochemical industry, such as SOLVENTS, LUBRICANTS, POLYMERS and DETERGENTS.
BOILING POINTS OF HYDROCARBONS
Fractional distillation relies on the differences in boiling points to separate components. The TEMPERATURE GRADIENT is crucial as it allows the hydrocarbons to condense at the right levels, to ensure effective separation.
The SHORTER CHAINED hydrocarbons like the ones in LPG and Petrol have a LOWER BOILING POINT because there are WEAKER INTERMOLECULAR FORCES between the molecules which don’t need a lot of energy to break.
This means their BOILING POINTS are LOWER, so they are collected at HIGHER LEVELS in the fractionating column because the temperatures further up are COOLER.
The opposite can be said for the LONGER CHAINED HYDROCARBONS.
