Fractional Distillation - Topic 8 - Paper 2

Coal Oil Natural Gas

Fossil fuels are non-renewable They take a long time to make and are being used up faster than they are being formed They are finite resources (one day they’ll run out)

Crude Oil

Remains of dead plants and animals (biomass) buried under layers of sediment Weight of sediment puts high pressure on the dead organisms And over millions of years, along with high temperatures, crude oil forms (Non-renewable) (Finite)

A complex mixture of different hydrocarbons

Compounds with contain only hydrogen and carbon

Fractional distillation

Crude oil heated until most turned to gas Bitumen drained at bottom while gases enter fractionating column Longer hydrocarbons have higher boiling points and so cool and condense more quickly than shorter ones, being removed closer to bottom of column The shorter the hydrocarbon, the lower the boiling point and therefore the higher up the column it will cool and drain out

Bitumen is the part of crude oil with the highest boiling point It has the longest chain of carbons It’s used to surface roads and roofs

Bitumen Fuel Oil Diesel Oil Kerosene (paraffin) Petrol Gases

Fuel for ships and power stations

Fuel in some cars and larger vehicles e.g. trains

Kerosene is used as a fuel in aircraft

Fuel in cars

Domestic heating and cooking