Sunday, July 9, 2017

4.8: Describe How the Industrial Process of Fractional Distillation Separates Crude Oil into Fractions



CRUDE OIL: Mixture of Hydrocarbons


FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION: Method to separate two or more liquids that are miscible with one another
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INDUSTRIAL PROCESS OF FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION:
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FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION OF CRUDE OIL
Diagram showing the Process of Fractional Distillation to Separate Crude Oil in a Fractionating Column
EXPLANATION:

Fractional distillation is carried out in a fractionating column

  • In the fractionating column, it is hot at the bottom and cool at the top
  • Crude oil is transported into the fractionating column and heated into vapours that rise and evaporate
  • Vapours of Hydrocarbons with high boiling points will immediately turn into liquid at the bottom of the column where they will be tapped off
  • Vapours of Hydrocarbons with low boiling points will rise up the column and condense at the top where they will be tapped off
  • Hence, different fractions will condense and be tapped off at different heights along the fractionating column according to their boiling points

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