Points C Fractional Distillation example essay topic

430 words
Social Relevance Assignment 1. a) Fractional distillation is the process of separating liquids from a mixture of liquids all having different boiling points. This is the process used to refine crude oil and make it usable for a wide variety of purposes. Crude oil, for example, is not acceptable for use in ointments, and barely be able to produce bitumen using kerosene. Another reason that crude oil is 'fractionated' is so that different states can be produced. Without fractional distillation, how would you produce gas gasolene from petroleum? b) The boiling points c) Fractional distillation is performed by heating a mixture of liquids, all with different boiling points. When the temperature reaches the boiling point of the lowest liquid in the mixture, it becomes a vapour, separating from the other liquids.

This vapour rises and can be easily extracted from the container by a water condenser. On it's way down the water condenser, the vapour cools, becoming heavier, and condensing back into a liquid, collected in a container at the end of the condenser. 2. a) A hydrocarbon is a molecule consisting of hydrogen and carbon. b) (i) gas (ii) liquid ( ) solid 3. There are a number of reasons why heavier hydrocarbons tend to have higher boiling points than lighter ones. The first of these is the number of bonds. The more bonds, the stronger the chemical lattice, and therefore the harder and hotter it must be to break these bonds.

Especially if the molecule is unsaturated and contains either double or triple bonds. This is also due to the dispersion forces, which increase with size. 4. a) C 17 H 36 b) C 22 H 44 c) C 7 H 12 5. a) An isomer is an organic molecule having the same molecular formula but a different structural formul 6. a) When hydrocarbons are 'cracked' in an oil refinery, the hydrocarbon is heated until it 'cracks' and breaks into smaller hydrocarbons. A catalyst is used to prevent decomposing by lowering the temperature at which the larger hydrocarbon will 'crack' at. b) Cracking is done so that oil can be used more economically. For example, there may be a higher demand for one hydrocarbon than another, by cracking a larger, less demanded hydrocarbon, you can produce two or more different types of hydrocarbons, including the one desired. c) C 12 H 26 (g) -- - C 8 H 18 (g) + C 2 H 4 (g) in words: Decane -- - octane + ethane

Bibliography

JAMES, Maria Chemical Connections Milton: John Eley & Sons 1999.