Products

from oil
Chapter 11
 Learning objectives
1. Define organic compounds, hydrocarbons including examples and overview of bonding
present in them
2. Identify and draw structural formula of hydrocarbons including naming them
3. Classify alkanes and alkenes according to their homologous series
4. Describe the general trends of physical properties in a homologous series
5. Name the sources of fossil fuels, describe their formation and extraction
6. State the importance of fractional distillation of crude oil in industry, naming the fractions
produced, method of fractional distillation and small scale laboratory experiment of fractional
distillation
7. State how cracking is done and its significance in the industry
8. Construct equations of cracking, small scale laboratory experiment of cracking
9. Identify, draw and name saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons
10. Construct combustion reaction of hydrocarbons and state the effect of the products on
the environment
11. State the uses of different fractions of crude oil
 Organic
Compounds
Compounds containing carbon that are
typically found in living systems.
 • Hydrocarbons are compounds that contain
hydrogen and carbon atoms only.
• Coal, Oil and Natural Gas Formation -
Fossil Fuels.
• Just as coal has formed by the action of
Fossil fuels and heat and pressure on the remains of trees
and plants on land over millions of years,
Hydrocarbons so oil and natural gas have formed by the
action of heat and pressure on there
mains of sea plants and animals over
millions of years.
Crude oil
Crude oil is a finite resource that is found in the
Earth’s crust. It is the remains of organisms that
lived and died millions of years ago - mainly
plankton which was buried in mud.

Crude oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons.

The carbon atoms in these molecules are joined
together in chains and rings. Carbon atoms are
black and hydrogen atoms are white.
Homologous series
• A homologous series is a family of
hydrocarbons with similar chemical
properties who share the same general
formula.
• The alkanes, alkenes are examples of
homologous series.
Saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons

Hydrocarbons

Saturated Unsaturated
Hydrocarbons Hydrocarbons
Fractional Fractional distillation is used to separate crude oil
into simpler, more useful mixtures. This method can
be used because different hydrocarbons have
distillation different boiling points.
 Fractional distillation is used to separate crude oil into
simpler, more useful mixtures.

Hydrocarbons have different boiling points. They can be

solid, liquid or gas at room temperature,

Fractional Small hydrocarbons with only a few carbon atoms have low
boiling points and are gases

distillation Hydrocarbons with between five and 12 carbon atoms are

usually liquids

Large hydrocarbons with many carbon atoms have high

boiling points and are solids.

Because they have different boiling points, the substances

in crude oil can be separated using fractional distillation.
Fractional • Process:
• A tall column is fitted above the mixture, with
distillation several condensers coming off at different
heights. The column is hot at the bottom and
cool at the top.
• Substances with high boiling points condense
at the bottom and substances with lower
boiling points condense on the way to the
top.
• The crude oil is evaporated and its vapors
condense at different temperatures in the
fractionating column. Each fraction contains
hydrocarbon molecules with a similar number
of carbon atoms.
During the fractional distillation of crude oil:

heated crude oil enters a tall fractionating column, which is hot at the bottom and gets cooler
towards the top

vapors from the oil rise through the column

vapors condense when they become cool enough

liquids are led out of the column at different heights

One way to remember the
names of the fractions is:

Lazy
Penguins
Keep
Drinking
Hot
Bournevita.
 Names of hydrocarbons
The names, molecular formula and the structural
formula of the first eight alkanes must be learned.
Methane CH4 Monsters Ethene C2H4
Ethane C2H6 Eat Propene C3H6
Propane C3H8 Pupils Butene C4H8
Butane C4H10 But Pentene C5H10
Pentane C5H12 Prefer Hexene C6H12
Hexane C6H14 Hairy Heptene C7H14
Heptane C7H16 Hamsters C8H16
Octene
Octane C8H18 Occasionally
Names of Did you find anything contrary to the general
hydrocarbo rule of hydrocarbons?

ns
Names of Methene is not possible as alkenes require a
hydrocarbo carbon-carbon double bond and methane only
has one carbon atom.
ns
 How many covalent bonds between
carbons do the alkanes have?

What’s the chemical formula for

methane?

Questions
Draw the formation diagram for butane

What are the general formulas for alkanes

and alkenes?
 Properties of hydrocarbons

Small molecules Large molecules

Low melting point High melting point

Very Volatile Not very volatile

Flows easily Does not flow easily

Ignites easily Does not ignite easily

Cracking is a reaction in which larger saturated
hydrocarbon molecules are broken down into
Equations of
smaller, more useful hydrocarbon molecules,
some of which are unsaturated.
cracking
The products of cracking include alkanes and
alkenes , members of a different homologous
series.

The starting compound will always fit the rule for

an alkane, CnH2n+2. The first product will also
follow this rule.

The second product will contain all the other C

and H atoms. The second product is an alkene, so
it will follow the rule CnH2n.

Hexane can be cracked to form butane and

ethene:
hexane → butane + ethene
C6H14 → C4H10 + C2H4
 CRACKING
Various methods can be used for
cracking, eg catalytic cracking and
steam cracking:
Catalytic cracking uses a temperature of
approximately 550°C and a catalyst known as
a zeolite which contains aluminium oxide and
silicon oxide
Steam cracking uses a higher temperature of
over 800°C and no catalyst
Cracking is important for two
main reasons:
It helps to match the supply of fractions with
the demand for them.
It produces alkenes, which are useful
as feedstock for the petrochemical industry.
 1.What is fractional distillation? Explain.
Ans: Fractional distillation is used to separate crude oil into simpler, more useful
mixtures. This method can be used because different hydrocarbons have different
boiling points.

2.Why are smaller hydrocarbons easy to ignite?

Ans: Because smaller hydrocarbons have lower boiling point and are more volatile.

QUESTION 3.Why are larger hydrocarbons not useful as fuels?

Ans: Because they have higher boiling point, and are harder to ignite.
Answers
4.What does the process of cracking do?
Ans: It breaks down the long chain of alkanes into small alkanes and alkene
molecules.
5.How many types of cracking are there? Please name them .
Ans: Two types:
a.Thermal cracking: High temperature (750C) and pressure(70atm)
b.Catalytic cracking: Low temperature and pressure with zeolite catalyst
 Combustion
Hydrocarbon fuels can undergo complete combustion or incomplete
combustion, depending on the amount of oxygen available.

Complete combustion
• Complete combustion of a hydrocarbon fuel happens when there is a good supply of air.
Carbon and hydrogen atoms in the fuel react with oxygen in an exothermic reaction:
• Carbon dioxide and water are produced
• The maximum amount of energy is given out
• In a Bunsen burner, this occurs when the air hole is fully open.
 Combustion

•In general:
•hydrocarbon + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water

•Here are the equations for the complete

combustion of propane, used in bottled gas:
•propane + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water
•C3H8 + 5O2 → 3CO2 + 4H2O
Combustion
• Incomplete combustion
• Incomplete combustion happens when
the supply of air or oxygen is poor. Water
is still produced, but carbon monoxide
and carbon are produced. Less energy is
released than during complete
combustion.
• In a Bunsen burner, incomplete
combustion occurs when the air hole is
closed.
Combustion
• Incomplete combustion
• Using ethane (C2H6) as a fuel, and
producing CO as one of the products:
ethane + oxygen → carbon monoxide +
water
• C2H6 + O2 → CO + H2O
• When this equation is balanced, you
get:
• 2C2H6 + 5O2 → 4CO + 6H2O
 Problems with incomplete combustion
Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas which binds to haemoglobin in
your red blood cells, preventing them from carrying oxygen to the
cells in your body
Can make asthma worse, and perhaps even cause cancer

Particulate carbon can also cause global dimming, which may reduce
rainfall.
 Atmospheric pollutants

Pollutant Source
Carbon dioxide, CO2 Complete combustion of any fuel containing carbon atoms

Carbon monoxide, CO Incomplete combustion of any fuel containing carbon atoms

Particulate carbon, C Incomplete combustion of any fuel containing carbon atoms

Unburned hydrocarbons Hydrocarbon fuel molecules which have not been oxidised at all

Sulfur dioxide, SO2 Combustion of a fossil fuel which contains sulfur impurities

Nitrogen oxides, NOx Oxidation of atmospheric nitrogen inside the engine of a car, lorry,
etc
 Acid rain
Acid rain describes any form of precipitation
that contains high levels of nitric and sulfuric
acids.

Effects of acid rain: Acid rain damages the natural and

built environment. For example, it:

• reacts with metals and rocks such as limestone,

weakening and damaging buildings and statues
• damages the waxy layer on the leaves of trees, making it
more difficult
• for trees to absorb the minerals they need for healthy
growth
• makes rivers and lakes too acidic for some aquatic life to
survive
• The retention of heat in the
atmosphere caused by the
build-up of greenhouse
gases(carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide and
CFC)
• Electromagnetic radiation at
most wavelengths passes
through the Earth’s atmosphere
• The Earth absorbs most of the
radiation and warms up
• The Earth radiates energy as
infrared radiation
• Some of the infrared radiation
goes into space
• Some of the infrared radiation
is absorbed by greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere
• The lower atmosphere warms
up
 REVIEW

Organic compounds, Structural formula of

Alkanes and alkenes Homologous series
hydrocarbons hydrocarbons

Cracking and its

General trends of Sources, formation
Fractional distillation significance in the
physical properties in and extraction of
of crude oil industry, and
a homologous series fossil fuels
equations of cracking

Combustion reaction Acid rain and

of hydrocarbons Greenhouse effect.