CRACKING
Large alkanes are used as fuels but they are not as useful as shorter alkanes as fuels. This is because longer
alkanes are more viscous, less flammable and burn with a smokier flame than small alkanes.
The fractional distillation of crude oil produces more
long alkanes than we can sell. Cracking is the thermal longer alkanes → shorter alkanes + alkenes
decomposition of longer alkanes into smaller alkanes used as fuels used to
make polymers
and alkenes.
• vaporise the alkanes and pass over a hot catalyst or
This can be done in two ways:
• mix with steam and heat to high temperature
Kerosene (paraffin) is a fraction of crude oil that is used as a fuel (e.g. for planes) but the supply of kerosene is
greater than demand and so some kerosene is cracked.
Aim You are going to crack some kerosene by heating it in the presence of a catalyst (the catalyst is
some broken pieces of ceramics – they contain minerals called aluminosilicates).
Safety • Organic compounds are flammable and may be harmful
• Bromine water is an irritant
• The apparatus will be very hot
• When putting the delivery tube into the boiling tube, hold the bung of the
delivery tube and the opening end of the boiling tube (to keep the gap
between your hands to a minimum)
• When you finish the experiment, life the apparatus out of the water before / as
you stop heating to prevent ‘suck-back’
Method 1) Collect a boiling tube containing mineral wool soaked in kerosene.
2) Place some ceramic pieces (known as porous pot) in the middle of the tube.
3) Insert the delivery tube into the end of the boiling tube (see safety note above)
4) Clamp the boiling tube horizontally (place the clamp at the mouth of the tube) at a height
where the end of the delivery tube is under water.
5) Heat the catalyst strongly, and after a minute or so, start to heat the kerosene and then
alternative every few seconds between the catalyst and the kerosene. Bubbles of gas (air at
first) will come out of the delivery tube.
6) After the first few bubbles have been released (after about 20 seconds), start to collect the
gas given off using test tubes of water as shown in the diagram. Once each tube contains a
significant amount of gas, stopper the tube and place it in a test tube rack. Collect two or
three tubes of gas.
7) Once you have two or three tubes of gas, lift the apparatus (using the stand) out of the
water bath (do not stop heating until you have lifted it out of the water).
8) Test the test tubes of gas and a sample of the original kerosene using bromine water to see
if the compounds contain C=C double bonds.
© www.CHEMSHEETS.co.uk 27-September-2017 Chemsheets GCSE 1197
Results kerosene test tubes of gas
observation when bromine
water is added
contains C=C (ü/û)
Questions
1) Give two reasons why smaller alkanes are in higher demand as fuels than longer alkanes.
i ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
ii ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2) Did you successfully crack the kerosene? Explain how you can tell. …………………………………………………...…..…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3) What were the ceramic pieces for? ……………………………………………………………………………………….……………..…
4) Why did you not collect the first few bubbles of gas? ……………………………………………………………………………..…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5) Why is the kerosene soaked in the mineral wool? …………………………………………………………………………………..…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6) Tetradecane (C14H30) is a compound in the kerosene fraction in crude oil. Write an equation to show how a
molecule of tetradecane can be cracked to form octane (C8H18) and ethene (C2H4).
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7) Pentadecane (C15H32) is another compound in the kerosene fraction in crude oil. Write an equation to show
how a molecule of pentadecane can be cracked to form octane (C8H18), propene (C3H6) and ethene (C2H4).
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
8) Explain why the method used to collect the gases would not work if the alkanes and alkenes were soluble in
water.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
© www.CHEMSHEETS.co.uk 27-September-2017 Chemsheets GCSE 1197
