Interatomic Potential and Chemical Stability In Hydrocarbons
Luke Nguyen, Dr. Cristian Bahrim
1
Department of Physics, Lamar University, P.O. Box 10022, Beaumont, Texas 77710
Introduction
Interatomic potential by definition describes the
interaction between a pair of atoms, as well as the
interaction between an atom and a mole. There are two
parts of any potential: an attractive and a repulsive
counterpart. The binding of the two molecules requires
the two components of the potential to converge towards
a deep potential well that is shown below.
PEPCON Fuel Plant explosion in
Henderson, Nevada (May 1988)
BP Chemical Plant explosion in
The location of the minimum determines the equilibrium
Texas City, Texas (March 2005)
separation whereas the depth of this well indicates the
stability of the system. Within each potential well exists
vibrational and rotational levels that are dependent on
temperature and kinetic energy. So the higher the
temperature, the higher the mode of vibration a pair of
molecules or atoms can reach. An analogy to understand
this potential well and levels is to imagine a ball sitting at
the bottom of a valley and energy is required for the ball
to escape the valley. Once the pair reaches a level that
exceeds the maximum state, the molecules or atoms will
begin separating
Importance of Achieving Stability
Especially in the southeasst Texas area, refineries are
extremly widespread and influences a lot of people to
migrate from other areas or states to work in chemical
plants. The refineries are located close to highly dense
populated towns such as Beaumont and Port Neches
and will always pose a threat. A possible threat could be
the highly pressurized tanks being overheated and could
eventually lead to explosions. The explosions are
uncommon due to many people being tasked with
maintaining the strict temperatures and pressures that
are calculated by safety and chemical engineers.
Although there are people working on the clock to
maintain the safety, there is always a risk.
Chemical Plant Accidents and Destruction
Organic Chemical Plant fire in
Crosby, Texas (August 2017)
Irving oil refinery in Saint John,
New Brunswick (October 2018)
Molecular Spectra
1. Atkins, Peter and de Paula, Julio. Physical Chemistry for the Life
2. Royer, Donald J. Bonding Theory. New York, NY.:McGraw-Hill,
3. Chang, Raymond. Physical Chemistry for the Biosciences.
Hydrocarbon Characteristics
Hydrocarbons, by definition, are molecules that consist of
purely carbon (C) and hydrogen (H) atoms. They can be
divided into three main groups according to the types of
bonds they contain: alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes. They
can also be straight-chain, branched chain, or cyclic
molecules. They serve a wide variety of purposes that
many people do not realize. For instance, they can be
used for creating heating and cooking fuel, gasoline,
plastics, petroleum, solvents, detergent, anti-freeze,
polystyrene and carbon fiber. Although many of these are
manufactured, complex hydrocarbons and their
derivatives can be found throughout nature.
Methane Ethane Propane
Polyethylene
Conclusion
Refineries typically keep hydrocarbons stable in many
different ways but these two factors contribute the
most. First, the shape of the storage tank matters
because the more corners a thank has, the more
tension can build in each of the corners so a spherical
tank is idea. Second, the gas is typically stored at high
pressures and low temperatures so that these
conditions allows an interaction zone to the minimum of
the potential wells, and thus, having more molecular
stability.
References
Sciences. New York, N.Y. W. H. Freeman Company, 2006.
(469-472)
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Sausalito, CA. University Science Books, 2005. (498-500)