refining crude oil picture courtesy of howstuffworks copyright © 1998-2004 howstuffworks, inc. all...

Refining Crude Oil

Picture courtesy of HowStuffWorks

Copyright © 1998-2004 HowStuffWorks, Inc. All rights reserved.

How is crude oil processed?

Crude oil is petroleum in its natural liquid form. Before crude oil can be used commercially, it is

heated, separated, and refined.




The process of refining crude oil is called fractional distillation.

The crude oil is heated so that it vaporizes and rises through the distillation column.



Refining Crude Oil

At the refinery, crude oil is turned into fuels and dozens of useful products.

Petrochemical Products

Americans consume petroleum products at a rate of three and a half gallons of oil and more than 250 cubic feet of natural gas a day per person!!

Petrochemical Products

Most people are surprised to see how many products incorporate petroleum.

Ink Golf Bags Cold CreamCrayons Fertilizers Nylon RopeDeodorant Purses GlueShoes Floor Wax LipstickAntifreeze Umbrellas CaulkingDrinking Cups Tires Dyes………….

Hydrocarbons

There are two things that make hydrocarbons exciting to chemists:

1. Hydrocarbons contain a lot of energy!

Hydrocarbons

The other reason for all the excitement about hydrocarbons is:

2. Hydrocarbons can take on many forms!

Types of Hydrocarbons

1. Alkanes or Paraffins Saturated hydrocarbons with only single C-C bonds.

2. Alkenes and Alkynes Unsaturated hydrocarbons double

and triple bonds between carbon

atoms.

3. Napthenes or Cycloalkanes

4. Aromatics

Alkanes or Paraffins

General formula: CnH2n+2 (n is a whole number, usually from 1 to 20)

Straight or branched-chain molecules

Why are alkanes important?

Alkanes with from 5 to 12 carbon atoms per molecule are found in gasoline.

Alkenes

This is a group of unsaturated hydrocarbons that have at least one double bond. The general formula is:

CnH2n

Isobutene

Alkenes can be gases or liquids.

Why are alkenes important?

The simplest alkene is ethene, C2H4 (or ethylene).

The controlled cracking of ethane gives ethylene, one of the most important raw materials in the plastics industry.

High temperatures + H2


Multiple bonds make alkenes highly reactive.

Ethylene molecules can be joined to form polyethylene, a plastic used to make bulletproof vests and helmets.


Polyethylene is probably the polymer you see most in daily life.

Polyethylene is the most popular plastic in the world.



http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/plastic.htm


The non-stick coating on this frying pan was produced accidentally by the polymerization of CF2=CF2 to form

-(CF2 – CF2)n-

Teflon.


Polymer Monomer Uses

Polyvinyl H H bottles,

chloride, PVC C = C credit cards

H Cl

-(CH2 – CHCl)n-

Alkynes

Alkynes are unsaturated hydrocarbons that have at least one triple bond. The general formula is CnH2n-2

Alkynes can be gases or liquids.

Why are alkynes important?

Acetylene The energy in the triple bond is used to power welding torches.

How do we get acetylene?

Alkynes are highly reactive and are not found in abundance in crude oil.

Acetylene is produced from methane.

4 CH4(g) + 3 O2(g) 2 C2H2(g) + 6 H2O(g)

Napthenes or Cycloalkanes

General formula: CnH2n

Saturated carbon rings

Liquids at room temperature

Why are cycloalkanes important?

Their principal use is as fuels.

Fuel oil and gasoline are for the most part mixtures of alkanes and cycloalkanes.

Aromatic Hydrocarbons

abbreviated as or

The smallest aromatic is benzene. CnHn

Benzene is an unsaturated ring of six carbon atoms and a liquid

at room temperature.

Why are aromatic hydrocarbons important?

Benzene is used as a solvent and as the starting point for making thousands of different compounds including: cough syrups, perfumes, artificial sweeteners, mothballs, and Styrofoam.

Diet

Styrofoam

Polymer Monomer Uses

Polystyrene Foamed items

and insulation

CH = CH2

-(CH – CH)n-


When crude oil is heated, the hydrocarbons are separated by differences in their boiling points.


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All rights reserved.


The distillation process of crude oil does not directly produce enough gasoline to meet our many demands.

What’s in a barrel of crude oil?Contents of a Typical Barrel of Crude

Oil

Residual Oil 39%

Distillate Fuels 24%

Kerosene 12%

Gasoline 25%

Motor fuel - Alkanes and Cycloalkanes (5 to 12 carbon atoms)

Fuel for jet engines and tractors Alkanes (10 to 18 carbons) and Aromatics Diesel fuel and heating oil Alkanes (12 or more carbon atoms)

Lubricating oil, motor oil and grease Alkanes, Cycloalkanes, and Aromatics (20 to 70 carbon atoms)

How do we get more gasoline?

Refineries use thermal and

catalytic cracking processes to

produce more gasoline and

compounds that can be used to make

plastics.



Cracking?

In the cracking process, the hydrocarbons are mixed with a catalyst and heated to 400 to 500 oC.

The heavy gas oil molecules are broken into smaller molecules which are suitable for gasoline.


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Inc. All rights reserved.

Cracking?

Cracking also converts straight-chain alkanes into more desirable branched-chain alkanes, which burn more smoothly and are more effective fuels.

What‘s next?

The products of fractional distillation and cracking are delivered to various markets such as gas stations, airports and chemical plants.



What happens at the chemical plants?

At chemical plants, the hydrocarbons can be further processed to make hundreds of useful products.



Think of all the products made from crude oil.

Petrochemical products have changed our lives!

From Crude To Refined

From Crude to Refined

In this activity, you demonstrated the separation of four components found in cherry cola based on their different boiling points.


The four fractions (products) given off during the fractional distillation of cherry cola were:

carbon dioxide gas

odor of cherry cola esters

watermixture of sugar and coloring


Temperature vs. Time (Sample Data)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Time in Minutes

Te

mp

era

ture

in

Ce

lsiu

s

By graphing the relationship of time and temperature, you were able to identify the boiling point of water to be

near 100 oC.


Crude oil is petroleum in its natural liquid form. Before crude oil can be used commercially it is heated, separated, and refined.




The process of refining crude oil is called…

fractional distillation.

The crude oil is heated so that it vaporizes and rises through the distillation column.




When crude oil is heated, the hydrocarbons are separated by differences in their ....

boiling points.

Hydrocarbon BP(oC)Gases 1-4 C 0 - 40Naptha (solvents) 5-9 C 60-100Gasoline 5-12 C 40-205Kerosene 10-18 C 175-325Diesel Fuel 12-20 C 250-350Motor Oil

20-50 C 300-370

Residue

70 + C 600 +


Copyright © 1998-2004 HowStuffWorks, Inc. All

rights reserved.


The molecules with the lowest boiling points vaporize first and condense…

near the top

of the distillation column.




The molecules with higher boiling points are located …

near the bottom.




In addition to making the oil-based products, refineries must also treat the wastes involved in the processes to minimize air and water pollution.



refining crude oil picture courtesy of howstuffworks copyright © 1998-2004 howstuffworks, inc. all...

Documents

alkenes important

alkynes important

alkanes important

types of hydrocarbons

petroleum products

refining crude oilat

important raw materials

single cc bonds