Science Makes Sense
  • Welcome
  • Chemistry
    • Basics >
      • Structure of Atoms
      • Periodic Table >
        • Groups and Periods
      • Chemical Reactions >
        • Balancing Equations
    • Building materials >
      • Calcium carbonate
      • Metals >
        • Extracting Metals 1
        • Extracting Metals 2
        • Using Metals
      • Buildings and Acid Rain
    • Fossil Fuels >
      • Molecules from Crude Oil
      • Burning Fuels
      • Calorimetry
    • Crude Oil - Other Uses >
      • Polymers
      • Ethanol
    • Vegetable Oils >
      • Emulsions
    • Planet Earth >
      • Atmosphere
  • Physics
    • Transferring Heat Energy >
      • Heating and Cooling
    • Energy and Efficiency
    • Electrical Energy >
      • Counting the Cost
    • Generating Electricity >
      • The National Grid
    • Waves >
      • Reflection, Refraction and Diffraction
    • Electromagnetic Spectrum >
      • The Big Bang Theory
  • Contact me
Molecules from Crude Oil

Crude oil is a mixture of many liquids. 
These liquids have to be separated by fractional distillation in order to  be burned for specific purposes.
Crude oil fractions belong to a group of chemicals called alkanes.
 Alkanes are hydrocarbons, containing covalent bonds between C and H atoms.
The larger the alkane molecule, the more heat energy produced on burning making them good  fuels. 
Also because of their high boiling points, they are safer to transport.
In the UK we use natural gas (methane) for cooking because it flows easily through pipes.

Picture
Picture
< Previous page                                                                                                                                                                                Next page >
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.