Crude oil is a fossil fuel - what is a fossil fuel and how is crude oil separated into its fractions?

A fossil fuel is a substance like coal, oil, or natural gas formed from decayed plant or animal remains which can be burned to produce energy and power. Crude oil is separated by fractional distillation - first you need to heat it to evaporate the hydrocarbons. The vapours enter the column which is warmer at the bottom and cooler at the top, the different fractions of crude oil will condense at different temperature levels of the column as they have different boiling points.

ES
Answered by Ella S. Chemistry tutor

3138 Views

See similar Chemistry GCSE tutors

Related Chemistry GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Why do melting points decrease down group I?


Nitrogen reacts with hydrogen to produce ammonia. Calculate the mass of ammonia made from 84.0g of nitrogen.


Reaction between a metal and acid gives?


What is an acid?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences