Fractional Distillation

Crude oil is made over a long period of time

• Formed from the remains of plants and animals that died millions of years ago and through heat and pressure turned into crude oil
• Non-renewable fuel

Fractional distillation is used to separate hydrocarbon fractions

• Crude oil is a mixture of lots of different hydrocarbons
• To separate them:
  • Heat until most has turned into a gas, bitumen won’t and will drain straight out
  • Gases enter a fractionating column which has a temperature gradient, hot at the bottom and cooler towards the top
  • Longer hydrocarbons have higher boiling points, so they condense back to liquids early on when they’re near the bottom, shorter hydrocarbon then take longer
  • End with crude oil mixture separated into different fractions
• Fractions in crude oil are:
  • LPG
  • Petrol
  • Kerosene
  • Diesel Oil
  • Heavy fuel oil
  • Bitumen
• Makes:
  • Lubricants
  • Petrol
  • Paraffin
  • Solvents
  • Detergents