Oil refining and its Products

Petrol and Crude Oil

Crude oil is separated by

fractional distillation

works because the

molecules have different
boiling/condensation
points

many of these
hydrocarbons are alkanes,
and are sorted into
fractions

each fraction has a range

of boiling points in the
distillation

narrow boiling ranges of

limited carbon number (eg
light gasoline is C5 to C7
boiling point 25C -75C)

Gasoline and gas oil fractions are sources

of petrol components
Naptha used for high grade petrol and
chemical feedstocks

Fractionation of Crude Oil

Fractions and their uses
Refinery

Gas (LPG)
Light Gasoline (Petrol)
Naphtha (Petrol)
Kerosene (Jet Fuel)
Gas Oil (Diesel Fuel)
Residue Fractions (Bitumen)

Natural Gas
Natural

gas is an extremely fuel both for

domestic and industrial use.
It is a mixture consisting mostly of methane,
CH4, (at least 85%), ethane, C2H6, (up to
10%) and small amounts of propane, C3H8,
and butane, C4H10.

Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)

The

gases in the refinery gas fraction are

bottled and sold for domestic use.
Propane and butane from this fraction can be
readily liquefied under pressure and are
referred to as liquid petroleum gas (LPG).

Mercaptans
Very

smelly, organic sulfur compounds called

mercaptans are added to natural gas and
LPG so that leaks can be detected

Petrol Composition
Complex
Mainly

mixture of compounds

Hydrocarbons

Branched
Aromatic

chain alkanes

Compounds

Petrol in the Internal

Combustion Engine
Vaporised
Mixed

with air
Compressed
Ignited and burned
Gases produced expand
Kinetic Energy

Premature Ignition
Problem:

Auto-ignition (i.e. knocking or pinking)

Effects: a) Loss of power
b) Engine damage
Prevention: a) Additives
b) Use suitable mixtures of
high-octane compounds

Octane Rating
Measure

of tendency to resist auto-ignite

or
Measure of tendency to cause knocking

Low

octane rating makes auto-ignition more

likely

Octane Rating
2,2,4-tri-methylpentane

Octane Number =100

Heptane
Octane Number = 0

Additives
(i)
()
()
()
(ii)
()
()

Lead compounds e.g. tetra ethyl lead

Prevents reactions
Harmful environmental effects
Phased out in 2000
Oxygenates e.g. ROR orROR1 MTBE
Raise octane number
Cause less pollution

Mixture of compounds with

high octane numbers
Molecular features:
Degree of branching the more the better
Chain

length the shorter the better

Presence

of rings highly desirable

High octane numbers can be

obtained from low by:
1.

Isomerisation

2.

Dehydrocyclisation

3.

Catalytic cracking

All three methods involve the use of catalysts

Isomerisation

Take a straight chain alkane e.g. pentane (O.N.62)

CCCCC
Heat in the presence of a catalyst
Chain breaks
Bits rejoin to form a branched compound e.g.2methylbutane (O.N.93)

CCCC

Dehydrocyclisation
Take

a straight chain alkane e.g. hexane

(O.N. 25)
Catalyst causes change to a cycloalkane
(O.N. 83)
C6H14
(CH2)6 + H2
Catalyst causes the cycloalkane to change to
an aromatic compound e.g. benzene (O.N.
>100)
(CH2)6 3H2 + C6H6
Benzene

Catalytic Cracking
Heavy

oil e.g. kerosine or diesel

High temperature and catalyst
Molecule breaks into several smaller
molecules
Unsaturated products are used as feedstock
for the polymer industry
Saturated products are usually high octane
branched chain alkanes suitable for making
petrol

CH3 (CH2)10 CH3

CH3
CH3

CH3 CH CH2 CH CH3

+
CH3