Organic Chemistry #5: Hydrocarbons as Fuels (Slides and Student Led Tasks)

LESSON OBJECTIVE: Investigate certain properties of hydrocarbons, understand the extraction of alkanes from crude oil via fractional distillation and describe the uses and pollutions of hydrocarbon combustion.

In this lesson we discuss how crude oil can be separated using fractional distillation into different fractions for various uses, how combustion reactions of hydrocarbons allow them to be used as fuels and the effects of the pollution that arises from this and discuss the effects on the solubility of molecules. This is lesson five in our organic chemistry series of Unit 15: Hydrocarbons (from the Cambridge International AS Chemistry Curriculum (9701) 2019-2021 curriculum).

Learning Outcomes:
(taken from the Cambridge International AS and A Level Chemistry (9701) 2019-2021 curriculum)
15.1 Alkanes
d) explain the use of crude oil as a source of both aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons

e) suggest how cracking can be used to obtain more useful alkanes and alkenes of lower Mr from larger hydrocarbon molecules

15.3 Hydrocarbons as fuels
a) describe and explain how the combustion reactions of alkanes make them suitable to be used as fuels in industry, in the home and in transport

b) recognise the environmental consequences of:
(i) carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and unburnt hydrocarbons arising from the internal combustion engine and of their catalytic removal
(ii) gases that contribute to the enhanced greenhouse effect

c) outline the use of infra-red spectroscopy in monitoring air pollution