2.4 Applications and Implications of Organic Chemistry

Name the 3 dangerous properties of organic compounds

1. Flammability

2. Combustibility

3. Volatility

Define volatility

• How readily a substance vaporizes

Why can organic compounds as liquids (at room temperature) be dangerous?

• They can evaporate easily

• Easily ignite in the presence of an ignition source (e.g., cigarette, flame)

What are some examples of dangerous invisible gases?

• Natural gas

• Butane

• Propane

Flammable means-

• Easy to ignite

Combustibles are-

• More difficult to ignite

What are 3 examples of flammable liquids?

1. Gasoline

2. Ethanol

3. Propane

What are 2 examples of combustible liquids?

1. Acetic acid

2. Kerosene

What is the main ingredient of the sugar substitute “Splenda”?

• Sucralose

Are artificial sweeteners good?

• Yes: satisfy sugar craving without calories

• No: cause harm when over-consumed

What are the pros and cons of plastic packaging?

• Pros: made modern life more pleasant, inexpensive, keeps food fresh

• Cons: derived from fossil fuels, serious environmental effects

What is the North Atlantic Garbage Patch?

• Hundreds of kilometres across

• Dense, floating mass of garbage

• Hazardous to fish, aquatic life

What is the symbol you see on plastic recyclables?

• Society of the Plastics Industry resin identification code

What do the symbols mean on recyclables?

• A code for the type of raw material used in the construction of the plastic

Going back to biology, what are plastics made of?

• Plastics are long hydrocarbon chains of the repeating unit called a monomer

Many monomers bonded together form a molecule called a-

• -polymer

What does PVC stand for?

• Polyvinyl Chloride

What is polymerization?

• The process by which many monomers are linked together to produce a long-chained polymer that can be moulded to produce the vast array of plastic containers

What is the polymerization process for PVC?

• Many vinyl chloride monomers are linked together to produce polyvinyl chloride

What group of organic compounds used to make PVC flexible and soft may be dangerous?

• Phthalate esters

What is the down side of using phthalate esters?

• In lab-based experiments, has been shown to be detrimental to normal development

Give two examples of this type of plastic

1. Soda bottle

2. Salad dressing container

Give two examples of this type of plastic

1. Liquid detergent bottle

2. Plastic 4L milk container

Give two examples of this type of plastic

1. Grocery bag

2. Wire and cable insulation

Give two examples of this type of plastic

1. Yogurt container

2. Margarine container

Give three examples of this type of plastic

1. Compact disc case

2. Plastic utensil

3. Grocery store meat and produce tray

Define fractionation

• A process for separating a mixture into its components

• Mixture is divided up in a number of smaller divisions (fractions) that have similar physical properties

Define fractional distillation

• Method used to separate crude oil into its many components

What kinds of stuff does fractional distillation make?

• Plastics

• Fossil fuels

• Detergents

• Commercial alcohols

Fractional distillation is based on the principal that-

• -the boiling point of a hydrocarbon is dependent on the length of the carbon chain

Hydrocarbons with _____ chains evaporate more easily than those with _____ chains

• Shorter

• Longer

In order to separate the crude oil mixture into fractions, the entire mixture is _____ and then sent to _____ chambers

• Heated

• Cooling

What are fractions?

• Divisions that contain similar-sized hydrocarbons

What is happening here?

• Crude oil is heated and fed into a fractional distillation tower

• The (mostly) gaseous mixture rises and cools

• Each component is separated based on its boiling point

Crude oil fractionation produces fractions that primarily contain _____, _____-_____ hydrocarbons

• Long, straight-chained

To actually make stuff we need short-chained branched hydrocarbons. How do we get these?

• Cracking

• Convert from long and straight → short and branched

What is the process of cracking?

• Hydrocarbons are mixed with a catalyst and heated to a high temperature

What is cracking also used for? Give an example

• To break apart substances (where there’s not much consumer demand) into smaller molecules

• Kerosene → ethane, ethene, propane, propene

Describe liquid versus slime

• Liquid: if polymer chains slide past each other easily, the substance acts like a liquid because the molecules flow

• Slime: if the molecules hook together at a few places, then the substance behaves like a rubbery polymer called an “elastomer”

What are some common artificial sweeteners?

• Aspartame

• Sucralose

• Saccharin

• Stevia

What are some safety risks associated with artificial sweeteners?

• Cardiovascular risk: clotting, heart attack, stroke

• Digestive distress: bloating, gas, diarrhea

• Blood sugar effects: increased risk of type 2 diabetes

• Possible carcinogenic effect