Chemistry Presentation

On Crude Oil and Ammonia

Objectives To Be discussed:
Objective 3:

Crude Oil

explain the method used in the separation

of the components of crude oil;
discuss the uses of the components of
crude oil as fuels and as raw materials for
the petrochemical industry
assess the impact of the petroleum
industry on the environment.

Objective 4:

Ammonia

outline the steps in the manufacture of

ammonia from its elements, by the Haber
process;
discuss the uses of ammonia;
assess the impact of the ammonia
industry on the environment.

Crude Oil
Separating the Components Of
Crude Oil

Steps in Separating Crude Oil

1. Heat the crude oil blend at 400 degree celsius.
2. The vapor enters the bottom of a long column as high as 60 metres
3. The vapor rises in the column and as it rises through the trays in the column,
it cools.
4. When a substance in the vapor reaches a height in the column where the
temperature of the tray is lower to that of the substance's boiling point, it will
condense to form a liquid.

5. When the gas reaches a tray it passes up through it into a bubble cap, this is
a cover over the hole that pushes the gas down so that it has to bubble up
through the liquid that has already condensed onto that tray.
6. As the vapour condenses and vapourizes many times on the trays along the
column, the composition of the vapour becomes richer in the more volatile
component.
7. The more volatile components rise to the top of the column while less volatile
ones tend to condense on the trays at various levels along the column.
8. And so the crude oil is separated into different fractions, each boiling within a
particular temperature range.

Crude Oil
Uses of the Components of
Crude Oil

Major Fractions of Crude Oil and Their Uses

Residue
Boiling Temperature range: >350 degrees celsius
This is about 40-50% of crude oil and can be further distilled unde rlow pressure to
yield:
fuel oil - used as fuel for ships and power stations.
lubricating oil and waxes - used for motor oil grease and other lubricants.
bitumen - used for road surfacing and roofing material.

Gas Oil
Boiling temperature range: 275-350 degree celsius
This is about 15-20% of crude oil and is used as fuel in diesel engines and
industrial furnaces.

Kerosene
Boiling temperature range: 175-325 degree celsius
This is about 10-15% of crude oil and can be used as jet fuel and for domestic
heating.
Kerosene can also be broken down to make more gasoline.

Kerosene continued
As a derivative of petroleum, kerosene has many of he same chemical properties.
The chemical industry can use kerosene as a petroleum solvent or industry-grade
chemical lubricant.
It is also found in some pesticides and is helpful in removing head lice.

Gasoline and Naphtha

Boiling temperature range: 40-200 degree celsius
These are about 15-30 % of crude oil. Gasoline is distilled off and used as motor
fuel for internal combustion engines. The other part, Naphtha, is used as chemical
feedstock for conversion to other compounds.

Refinery Gas
Boiling temperature range: < 20 degree celsius
This is about 1-2 % of crude oil and is mainly a mixture of alkanes containing
about 4 carbon atoms in a molecule. It is usually a gas at room temperature.
Refinery gas can be used as a gaseous fuel or it can be liquified under pressure to
produce liquified petroleum gas (LPG). It can also be used as feedstock for
making petrochemicals.

Petroleum
Boiling temperature range: < 20 degree celsius
The industry that uses petroluem to produce other chemicals is referred to as the
petrochemical industry. Petroleum is used in many industries such as:
agriculture
plastics
tyres
pharmaceuticals
dyes, detergents and fabrics
and many others.

Cracking and Reforming of Crude Oil Fractions

When crude oil is separated into its various fractions through farctional distillation,
there is usually a greater demand for specific components which cannot be simply
obtained through fractional distillation alone.
Therefore, the large hydrocarbon chains have to be broken down into smaller and
more valuable and useful hydrocarbon chains. This can be achieved through
combustion, Cracking and Reforming techniques.

Combustion
Crude Oil isnt necessarily pure, and when combusted may result in the evolution
of pollutants such as, SO2 , Oxides of nitrogen, CO, and BTEX compounds.
However, this method can be used to break down large hydrocarbon chains into
smaller ones to achieve the substance required. This is further explained in this
module under objective 9.6

Catalytic Cracking
This involves the use of a catalyst at lower temperatures to break the bonds of the
hydrocarbon molecules. The reaction is usually catalysed by a powdered mixture
of alumina and silica at approximately 500 degree celsius.
The C-C bond, undergoes heterolytic fission which results in a mechanism
involving carbocations. This tends to produce a large amount of branched chain
alkanes which are useful in gasoline.

Catalytic Cracking is used to crack the distilled fractions such as, diesel oil and
kerosene into smaller molecules.
The cracked compounds are important to produce more valuable fuel as well as
chemical feedstock for the petrochemical industry.

These alkenes are suitable starting materials to make:

Plastics
Detergents
Cosmetics
Solvents
Paints
many other petrochemicals.

Reforming
This is a process which converts straight chain hydrocarbons into aromatic and
more highly branched hydrocarbons.
This process converts low value naphtha fractions into high grade gasoline
components.
Higher grade gasoline contains a higher proportion of branched alkanes and
aromatic hydrocarbons.
Products of reforming are also used as starting materials for the petrochemical
industry.

Did You
Know?
Reforming is the
effect of numerous
reactions such as
isomerization,
alkylation and
catalytic reforming.

Crude Oil
Impact of the Petroleum industry
on the Environment

The Petroleum Industry

The petroleum industry is considered a major source of environmental pollution.
Pollution is achieved during:
Extraction
Transportation
Refining of the crude oil as mentioned before
Refined products also affect the environment

Extraction
This involves the emissions of pollutants from the first seismic survey until the field
is shut down. Well drilling discharges oil into the surrounding soil and water. This
can damage fragile ecosystems by destroying habitats and killing organisms.

Transportation
Oil is usually transported through pipelines and in large ocean tankers. There is
always the possibility for leaks and spills which are detrimental to the
environment.

In the events of these happening:

Inhaling/ ingestion of oil can poison organisms.
Prevents seabirds from flying because of their feathers sticking together
Oil sticks to animal fur which cause them to lose insulation and freeze to
death.
It affects the tourism industry by ruining corals reefs and nearby beaches

The Refining of Crude Oil

In the refining process hazardous and toxic pollutants such as CO, SO2, nitrogen
oxides and BTEX (Benzene Toluene Ethylbenzene and Xylene) products are
emitted in the atmosphere. Exposure of these chemicals affects the atmosphere
differently.
SO2 and Nitrogen Oxides

CO
This is toxic. It readily
combines with
heamoglobin to reduce its
ability to transport oxygen
in the body.

These contribute to the

formation of acid rain which
leads to:
I.

Erosion of stonework and

buildings

II. Destruction of trees

III. Death of fish through

BTEX Compounds
These are possible
carcinogens which may
cause reproduction and
developmental problems or
aggravate respiratory
conditions

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Ammonia

CH4(g) + H2O(g)
CO(g) + H2O(g)

N2(g) + 3H2(g)

20 atm

800C

CO(g) + 3H2(g)

CO2(g) + H2(g)

2NH3(g)

Haber Process
NH3
storage
tank

Nitrogen from
fractional
distillation of
liquified air

Compressed
gas mixture
200-400 atm

Hydrogen
from steam
reforming

Reaction
chamber
500C, Fe,
Al2O3 catalyst

Unreacted
N2 and H2
recycled

Ammonia
Condenser

Uses Of Ammonia
Agricultural Uses:
As a source of Nitrogen, that is essential for plant growth
Ammonia is used in the production of liquid fertilizer solutions which
consist of ammonia, ammonium nitrate, urea and aqua ammonia. It is also
used by the fertilizer industry to produce ammonium and nitrate salts.
Ammonia and urea are used as a source of protein in livestock feeds for
ruminating animals such as cattle, sheep and goats.
Ammonia can also be used as a pre-harvest cotton defoliant, an antifungal agent on certain fruits and as preservative for the storage of

Ammonia Uses Continued...

Chemical Uses:
Ammonia is used in the manufacture of nitric acid; certain alkalies such as
soda ash; dyes; pharmaceuticals such as sulfa drugs, vitamins and
cosmetics; synthetic textile fibers such as nylon, rayon and acrylics; and
for the manufacture of certain plastics such as phenolics and
polyurethanes.
Weak ammonia solutions are also widely used as commercial and household
cleaners and detergents

Uses Of Ammonia in other industries:

The petroleum industry utilizes ammonia in neutralizing the acid constituents
of crude oil and for the protection of equipments from corrosion.
Ammonia is used in the mining industry for extraction of metals such as
copper, nickel and molybdenum from their ores.
Ammonia is used in several areas of water and wastewater treatment (such
as pH control) in solution form to regenerate weak anion exchange resins, in
conjunction with chlorine to produce potable water and as an oxygen
scavenger in boiler water treatment.
The decomposition of ammonia serves as a source of hydrogen for some fuel

Impact of the Ammonia Industry On the Enviroment

Majority of the ammonia emitted into the environment does not come from the
haber process itself, but from the various industries which uses ammonia.
A large amount of ammonia emitted is generated from the fertilizer and agriculture
industry. Ammonia is used in these industries to increase food production. This
results in a large amount of ammonia and nitrogenous compounds ending up in
the enviroment.
Exposure to ammonia can cause severe irritation at low concentrations and can
be fatal at high concentrations.

Ammonium and nitrate fertilizers are water soluble and are easily washed out farm
lands into the waterways. Excess fertlizers in rivers and streams can cause
eutrophication which leads the death of fish and other aquatic animals which rely
on oxygen for respiration.

How does Eutrophication cause this?

The enhanced plant growth, caused by the excess
nutrients in the water, prevents light from reaching
plants lower in the water. The plants die and bacteria
use up the dissolved oxygen in the water for
decomposition. This results in the fishs death.

Fertilizers can pollute drinking water since groundwater and surface water are
used as sources of domestic water supply.
Too much nitrates in drinking water is poisonous to infants. The nitrates are
converted to nitrites in infants which combine with heamoglobin more readily than
oxygen. This starves the body of oxygen and results in a bluish skin
discolouration.
This condition is called methaemoglobinaemia or blue baby syndrome.

END OF DISCUSSION
REVISION TIME!!!!!

Crude Oil Revision Questions

1. What is the basic property being exploited in fractional distillation?
The physical property of boiling point. It use the
diferences in volatility to separate miscible
liquids.

waxes, fuel oil, lubricants, etc.

Fractional Distillation

Naphtha
Kerosene
Diesel Oil

Residue

The breaking of long hydrocarbon chains to form smaller, more useful

molecules.

The process which converts straight chained hyrdocarbons into

aromatic and more highly branched hydrocarbons

1. Suitable starting materials for making plastics

2. Suitable starting materials for maikng detergents
3. also for making paints

Ammonia Revision Questions

The presence of water bodies, settlements, cultivated crops nearby.

Workers should wear goggles to protect eyes;

Wear gloves and full body suits to prevent direct exposure during any
ammonia leaks;
Wear respirators to prevent inhalation of ammonia.

END OF
PRESENTATION