Name: Refining of Petroleum
Uploaded: 2019-07-19
Duration: 1 min 55 s
Description: Petrol is an essential product, which doesn't derive directly from nature, and it requires a certain type of process called the fractional distillation proce...

Question

How is the refining of petroleum carried out? Name the important products obtained.

Accepted Answer

The various hydrocarbons present in petroleum have different boiling points. As the number of carbon atoms in hydrocarbon increases, its boiling point also increases. This property is used to separate the different components of petroleum by fractional distillation. The components with different boiling points are known as fractions, and the process of separating the fractions by fractional distillation is known as refining. It is carried out in a petroleum refinery.
Crude oil is first heated to about $400 ° C$ in a furnace. The vapours formed are passed into a tall fractionating tower (as shown below). The hydrocarbons with the highest boiling points condense first. They get collected near the base of the fractionating tower. As the vapour rises, the hydrocarbons with lower boiling points condense at different heights. They get separated in the fractionating tower to form the different fractions. The hydrocarbons with one to four carbon atoms, which are gases, do not condense and escape from the top of the tower.

The important products obtained from the various fractions of petroleum are kerosene, petrol, diesel, LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), paraffin wax, lubricating oil and asphalt (bitumen).

How is the refining of petroleum carried out? Name the important products obtained.

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