Learning Guide Module

Subject Code Chem 3 Reactions and Interactions of Organic and Inorganic Compounds
Module Code 2.0 Organic Reactions I
Lesson Code 2.13 Application: Industry in Focus
Time Limit 30 minutes

Components Tasks TAa ATAb

Target By the end of this module, the student should be able to:
1. Recall the importance of combustion reactions. 1 min.
2. Explain how hydrocarbons are obtained from crude oil.
3. Suggest how cracking can be used to obtain more useful
alkanes and alkenes from larger hydrocarbon molecules.
Hook Did you know that the oil or petroleum industry is a trillion-dollar
industry and is three times bigger than all the raw metals (like gold)
and mineral industries combined (Calcuttawala, 2016)?
In the Philippines, petroleum products (natural gas and oil-based
sources) fueled 30% of the electricity generated in the country in
2017 (Country Nuclear Power Profiles Philippines, 2017). The
petroleum and fuel products manufacturing industry in the
Philippines was valued at 67.63 billion Philippine pesos in 2018 1 min.
(Sanchez, 2019).
The whole world is highly dependent on this non-renewable
resource -- for energy and the raw materials that make up almost
all the things we use and consume each day.
In this module we will investigate what petroleum is made of, how
is it processed and why it is such an important resource.

Ignite The primary sources of hydrocarbons are fossil fuels: natural gas
and petroleum. These fossil fuels are a product of the
decomposition of tiny single-celled marine organisms
called foraminifera from many years ago (McMurry, 2012). It is
extracted from reservoirs found deep below land or the ocean bed.
According to Smith (2011), natural gas is composed largely of
methane (60% to 80% depending on its source), with lesser 5
amounts of ethane, propane, and butane. Petroleum or crude oil mins.
is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons containing 1 to 40 carbon
atoms. Crude oil must first be separated into fractions and then
further refined before it can be used.
The separation process usually uses a technique called fractional
distillation (see Figure 1), which takes advantage of the different
boiling point and weights of the components of petroleum. As
petroleum is heated, the lower boiling point or more volatile

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 components distill first. This is how gasoline, kerosene, diesel,
and industrial fuel oil are obtained.

Source: (A Look into the Refining Process, 2020)

Figure 1 Fractional Distillation of Crude Oil

The products of fractional distillation are still mostly alkanes,

which we use as fuels.
In a previous module, we already looked at the combustion of
alkanes as an important source of energy. However, saturated
hydrocarbons (alkanes) are not the only hydrocarbons that can be
utilized as fuel. Unsaturated hydrocarbons also undergo
combustion reactions to produce carbon dioxide, water and heat.

NON-GRADED FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Can you try balancing the equations for the combustion of ethene
and ethyne below?

__C2H4(g) + __O2(g) → __CO2(g) + __H2O(g)

__C2H2(g) + __O2(g) → __CO2(g) + __H2O(g)

We also know that alkanes are relatively inert and they would not
be very useful as starting materials for organic reactions needed to
synthesize the raw materials used in the manufacturing industry.
Fortunately, crude oil is readily converted to alkenes, using the
process called catalytic cracking. In catalytic cracking, the
hydrocarbon feedstocks of crude oil are mixed with solid catalysts
and heated to temperatures above 500 °C (Brown, 2014). These
conditions allow C-C single bonds to be broken, forming reactive
intermediates that eventually react to form smaller alkanes and

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 alkenes, especially ethene.
Here is an example of the catalytic cracking of hexane:

In the first reaction (Eq. 1), hexane is cracked to form butane and
ethene. The butane intermediate is then cracked to form ethene and
ethane (Eq. 2) till finally, the ethane intermediate is cracked to form
ethene and hydrogen gas (Eq. 3). For each step, ethene is released
and the alkane gets smaller by two carbons.
Ethene is collected and may now be used as a reactant for different
addition reactions like hydration (Eq. 4).

The products of these addition reactions are used as precursors to

the synthesis of many other important organic compounds.

Navigate
NON-GRADED FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Now that you know the source, processing and value of
hydrocarbons in the industry, do you think the world can live
without petroleum? Are there existing alternatives to the use of
petroleum as fuel? Are there existing alternatives to the use of
20
petroleum as raw material for industrial chemicals? Or is
mins
petroleum still the best option?

Discuss your answers as a class in a forum in Khub or during your

check-in time. (Your teacher may opt to give your participation
extra credit.)

Knot The primary sources of hydrocarbons are fossil fuels: natural gas
and petroleum.

3
Natural gas is composed largely of methane (60% to 80%
depending on its source), with lesser amounts of ethane, propane,
and butane. Petroleum or crude oil is a complex mixture of

Chemistry 3 Application: Industry in Focus │ 3 of 5

 hydrocarbons containing 1 to 40 carbon atoms.

Crude oil is separated into different fractions using a technique

called fractional distillation, and is further refined before it can
be used.

The products of fractional distillation are still mostly alkanes,

which we use as fuels. Unsaturated hydrocarbons also undergo
combustion reactions to produce carbon dioxide, water and heat.

Crude oil is readily converted to more reactive alkenes, using the

process called catalytic cracking. These alkenes (like ethene) are
collected and are used as a reactant for different addition reactions
to produce products that can now be precursors to the synthesis of
many other important organic compounds.

a
suggested time allocation set by the teacher
b
actual time spent by the student (for information purposes only)

Answer Key:
NON-GRADED FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

C2H4(g) + 3O2(g) → 2CO2(g) + 2H2O(g)

2C2H2(g) + 5O2(g) → 4CO2(g) + 2H2O(g)

References:

A Look into the Refining Process. (2020, July 10). Retrieved from CME Group:
https://www.cmegroup.com/education/lessons/a-look-into-the-refining-process.html
Brown, W. &. (2014). Introduction to Organic Chemistry, 5th Edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.
Calcuttawala, Z. (2016, October 23). The $1.7 Trillion Oil Industry Isn't Going Anywhere. Retrieved
from Oilprice.Com: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/The-17-Trillion-Oil-Industry-Isnt-
Going-Anywhere.html
Country Nuclear Power Profiles Philippines. (2017). Retrieved from IAEA: https://www-
pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/cnpp2017/countryprofiles/Philippines/Philippines.htm
McMurry, J. (2012). Organic Chemistry, 8th Edition. California: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.
Sanchez, M. (2019, June 18). Petroleum and fuel products manufacturing value added in the
Philippines 2010-2018. Retrieved from Statista:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/758404/petroleum-industry-manufacturing-value-added-
philippines/

Chemistry 3 Application: Industry in Focus │ 4 of 5

Prepared by: Mara Milagros D. Esguerra Reviewed by: Brenda A. Pelagio
Position: Special Science Teacher II Position: Special Science Teacher III
Campus: PSHS-Main Campus Campus: PSHS-CLC

© 2020 Philippine Science High School System. All rights reserved. This document may contain proprietary information and may only be
released to third parties with approval of management. Document is uncontrolled unless otherwise marked; uncontrolled documents are not
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