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“Fractions boil over a range of temperatures much narrower than the original crude oil
What does this suggest about the structures of the hydrocarbons in a fraction?
What does this suggest about the structures of the hydrocarbons in a fraction?
5 years ago
Chemistry Question asked by Vee
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In a fraction the structures of hydrocarbons have very similar numbers and types of bonds ( c-c o-c) and atoms as one another. Therefore, the energy required to overcome the intermolecular forces are similar. As such, the temperature at which the substances become gaseous are more similar. This is what creates the more narrow range.
Generally speaking, narrower temperature range means cleaner fraction.
Crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons. As the boiling point of hydrocarbons is dependent on the chain length (number of carbon atoms in the chain), it suggests that fractions contain hydrocarbons of a similar length. The longer the chain, the higher the boiling point.
A narrow range of boling points for each fraction indicates the hydrocarbons are of similar size/length and contain a similar number of carbon atoms.
The hydrocarbons within a fraction have very similar chain lengths and structures. Fractions are produced by the fractional distillation of crude oil which separates this mixture based on the boiling points of compounds.
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