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An essay on crude oil
An Essay About Crude Oil
Separation techniques crude oil distillation
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Crude Oil and Hydrocarbons
Petroleum, also known as crude oil is formed from fossilized remains of marine plants and animals that settled on the sea floor millions of years ago. Petroleum consists of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons molecules including parrafins, aromatics, napthenes/ cycloalkanes, alkenes and alkynes. Hydrocarbons are molecules that contain hydrogen and carbon atoms that form various structures from straight chains to branching chains and rings. Hydrocarbons with low molecular weights, such as propane (C3H8) are in a gaseous form. Octane and kerosene are both liquids and have medium molecular weights, whilst the larger hydrocarbons are solids such as tar and bitumen.
Fractional Distillation
Oil drilling occurs both at land and at sea, and is then transported to an oil refinery. Fractional distillation is the process in which the different length hydrocarbon chains are separated by their boiling points, which are dependent on the length. These different length chains are called fractions. The shorter carbon chains evaporate more easily than the longer chains. In order to separate the different length chains in crude oil, the mixture is heated at very high temperatures in a distillation tower. The distillation tower becomes progressively cooler from the base to the top and as all the hydrocarbons begin in the gaseous stage they rise. As the vapours rise fractional condensation occurs at different sections of the tower (Roger, 2010).
Some products that come from crude oil include; petroleum gas, naphtha, petroleum, kerosene, lubricating oil, fuel oil and residuals such as asphalt and tar. Although all fractions of crude oil have uses, the greatest demand requires that over 50% of the crude oil be converted...
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hydrocarbons that forms during the extraction of natural gas and is used as a thinning
According to U.S. Energy Information Administration website (eia.gov), a crude oil refinery is identified as a collection of many industrial facilities that turns crude oil into petroleum as finished products. Petroleum and oil are used interchangeably.
Gasoline as we know it today comes from crude oil. Crude oil, which is a fossil fuel, is a nonrenewable (once its gone, its gone for good) fuel source. Fossil fuel is comprised of naturally decaying plants and animals which once lived in oceans and seas millions of years ago. Where we find crude oil deposits we also find ancient oceans and seabeds. When extracted from the earth, crude oil may have colors ranging from clear to jet black and resistance to flow or viscosity from water to a molasses type substance.
The statement ‘Canada oil sands are much more of a blessing rather than a curse’ is not true because the disadvantages of oil sands outweigh the advantages. For this reason, this paper aims at indicating points against the statement. To understand the defects of oil sand exploration in Canada, one has to delve into the explanation of what oil sands are as well as how the entire process of mining and refining and thereafter, determine the disadvantages based on socioeconomic factors, environmental factors, as well as the infrastructure and energy required for its production.
U.S. Energy Information Association. "U.S. Total Crude Oil and Products Imports." Eia.doe.gov. Web. 26 May 2011. .
After the oil/gas mixture is drawn from the ground, it is then stored into a storage tank and allowed to rest for a while. Then the gas is piped off to a set of distillation columns to clean up the ethane. In order to activate the chemical reaction necessary to separate the ethane, a thermal cracking unit (a sort of long heated tube) i.e. a plug flow reactor is used. After a series of distillations, ethylene exits the tube.
Crude oil has may different forms that are found in different parts of the world.1)very light Crude which is used to make gasoline, Jet fuel and Kerosine this oil is highly volatile and can evaporate in a matter of days.2) Light crude which is also used for gasoline and other fuels including diesel oil. These oils are not as volatile but care moderately toxic and evaporate less quickly.3)Medium oils, which accounts for most of the cru...
The Olefins II Unit makes hydrocarbons from naphtha or natural gas using furnaces. After distillation, the p...
Thickett, Geoffrey. Chemistry 2: HSC course. N/A ed. Vol. 1. Milton: John Wiley & Sons Australia, 2006. 94-108. 1 vols. Print.
finding new ways to drill for oil and also refine it more efficiently to ensure that
,n.d. web. 21 May 2014 Petroleum engineering. Encyclopedia Britannica. N.P., n.d. Web.
» Downstream: significant refineries incorporate unrefined petroleum preparing and transport of items to retail outlets.
Hydrocarbons are compounds formed by carbon and hydrogen atoms. They are used as fuels to produce energy in incomplete and complete combustion reactions. Incomplete combustion occurs when hydrocarbons react with a small amount of oxygen (O2), whilst complete combustion occurs when hydrocarbons react with large amounts of oxygen. Incomplete combustions produce water (H2O), carbon monoxide (CO) and/or soot (C). The CO and soot produced from incomplete combustion can have harmful consequences on humans and the environment. They not only damage human health, but also contribute to the current issue of global warming, ozone formation, and black carbon footprint. That being said, CO is vital to the human body in order to properly function.
Transportation is another benefit of oil. Of course we all know that we use oil to run our vehicles, but that is not the only benefit. Oil is also used in combustion engines.
The oil refinery converts crude oil into valuable products and supplies. These products are made and sent to many countries abroad, in which are transported on land or along rivers and canals. Crude oil is then arranged and categorized into segments by fractional distillation. Raw crude oil, or unprocessed crude oil, is not normally beneficial in most industrial applications. Low sulfur crude oil has been valuable as a burner fuel to construct steam for the force of seagoing vessels. The lighter elements have the ability to construct explosive and dangerous vapors in the gas tanks. There are extremely hazardous, and are often used in war ships. The remaining hydrocarbon molecules are filtered from crude oil and used towards lubricants, feedstock, plastics, and fuels.