Topic 7A: Hydrocarbons and Crude Oil

Friday 11th September 2020

7.1.4) Cracking Crude Oil

What is Cracking?

Short-chain hydrocarbons are flammable so make good flues and are in high demand.
Long-chain hydrocarbons form thick gloopy liquids like tar which aren’t useful, so a lot
of the longer molecules produced from fractional distillation are turned into smaller,
more useful ones by a process called cracking.

Some of the products of cracking are useful as fuels, like petrol for cars and paraffin for
jet fuel. Cracking also produces substances like ethene, which are needed for making
plastics.

How Cracking Works?

Cracking is a thermal decomposition reaction – breaking molecules down by heating

them. There are 2 methods that can be used to crack alkanes – catalytic cracking or
steam cracking. In both methods, the first step is to heat the long-chain hydrocarbon to
vaporise them. In catalytic cracking, the vapour is passed over a hot, powdered catalyst.
Aluminium oxide is one of the catalysts used. The long-chain molecules split apart or
‘crack’ on he surface of the specks of catalyst.

Alternatively, in a steam cracking, the vapour can be mixed with steam and heated to a
very high temperature. This will also lead to thermal decomposition of long-chain
hydrocarbon molecules to form smaller ones.