Question 1

What is a petroleum product? Are all petroleum products hydrocarbons? Explain your
answer.

Answer 1
Petroleum products are useful materials derived from crude oil (petroleum) as it is
processed in oil refineries.

Petroleum products comprise refinery gas, ethane, LPG, aviation gasoline, motor
gasoline, jet fuels, kerosene, gas/diesel oil, heavy fuel oil, naphtha, white spirit,
lubricants, bitumen, paraffin waxes, petroleum coke and other products.

Not all petroleum products are hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are composed entirely of
carbon and hydrogen but some petroleum products also contain heteroatoms.

A heteroatom is any atom that is not carbon or hydrogen. It is typically, but not
exclusively, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, phosphorus, boron, chlorine, bromine, or iodine

An example of a non-hydrocarbon petroleum product is asphalt which typically contains

about 80% by weight of carbon; around 10% hydrogen; up to 6% sulfur; small amounts
of oxygen and nitrogen; and trace amounts of metals such as iron, nickel, and vanadium.

Question 2
What is a petrochemical? Give five examples by name and structural formula.

Answer 2
A petrochemical is a chemical product obtained from petroleum or natural gas.
Petrochemicals are also therefore petroleum products.

The two main classes of petrochemical raw materials are olefins (including ethylene and
propylene) and aromatics (including benzene and xylene isomers), both of which are
produced in very large quantities. From these basic building blocks a very wide range of
chemicals and other materials used in industry are made - monomers, solvents,
detergents, adhesives, etc. From the monomers, polymers or oligomers are produced for
plastics, resins, fibers, elastomers, certain lubricants and gels.

Five examples of petrochemicals are:-

1. Ethylene
2. Propylene glycol

3. Butadiene

4. Benzene

5. Methanol
Question 3
What is gasoline? How does it differ from kerosene?

Answer 3
Gasoline or petrol is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting mostly of aliphatic
hydrocarbons and enhanced with aromatic hydrocarbons toluene, benzene or iso-octane
to increase octane ratings, primarily used as fuel in internal combustion engines.

Difference between gasoline and kerosene:

Gasoline Kerosene

A flammable pale-yellow or colorless oily

Preferred automobile fuel because of its
liquid with a characteristic odor used for
high energy of combustion and capacity to
burning in lamps and domestic heaters or
mix readily with air in a carburetor.
furnaces and fuel or fuel component for jet
engines. Also a solvent for greases and
insecticides.

Intermediate in volatility between gasoline

A mixture of hydrocarbons that usually
and gas oil and distills between 150 and
boil below 180°C (355°F) or, at most,
300oC (300 to 570oF).
below 200°C (390°F).
Has a flash point about 25°C (77°F).

A blend of the chains from C7H16 through In the C12 to C15 range.
C11H24.

Question 4
Where is gasoline produced in a refinery? Explain the reasons for this.

Answer 4
Gasoline is not produced in the refinery system because it is not a single stream; it is a
blend of several streams.
Its components include the various hydrocarbon streams produced by distillation,
cracking, reforming, and polymerization. Gasoline is produced after the refining process
because it comprises of streams produced in the refining process.
Question 5
What is asphalt? Is asphalt a hydrocarbon? Explain your answer.

Answer 5
Asphalt is a dark brown to black cementitious material obtained from petroleum
processing, which contains very high-molecular-weight polar series called asphalt ness
that are soluble in carbon disulfide, pyridine, aromatic hydrocarbons and chlorinated
hydrocarbons.

Since hydrocarbons are composed entirely of carbon and hydrogen, asphalt is not a
hydrocarbon because it contains about 80% by weight of carbon; around 10% hydrogen;
up to 6% sulfur; small amounts of oxygen and nitrogen; and trace amounts of metals such
as iron, nickel, and vanadium.