CHEMISTRY GUIDE

Topic 1.6 CRUDE OIL Introduction The vast majority of carbon-containing compounds in widespread use have been made from crude oil . Crude oil is also known as petroleum . Crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons . A hydrocarbon is a substance containing carbon and hydrogen only . Most of the hydrocarbons in crude oil are alkanes . Alkanes are hydrocarbons containing only single bonds between the carbon atoms. Each of the hydrocarbons present in crude oil has a slightly different use. Mixed together they are of no use at all. It is necessary, therefore, to separate them before they can be used productively. Crude oil is separated into its different components by a process called fractional distillation . The products of fractional distillation are often converted into other, even more useful hydrocarbons by a process called cracking . Fractional distillation The d...