Yazeed Ahmad Abdel Rahim

The Alkanes

Hydrocarbons and the Alkanes:-

 Organic molecules containing only hydrogen and carbon is called hydrocarbon.

 Hydrocarbons are insoluble in water, and they burn in sufficient oxygen to produce CO 2 and
H2O.
 General formula of Alkanes is CnH2n+2.
 The most important source of Alkanes is fossil fuel.
 The fossil fuel which is extracted from deep down under earth is called crude oil.
 Remains of plant, fossilised for millions of years buried under ground form coal.
 Crude oil extracted, is a mixture of many hydrocarbons.
 Process by which crude oil is converted into useful chemicals is called primary distillation.
 Study the fractions in crude oil distillation.

Making the most of Crude Oil:-

 The demand of lighter fractions is of a greater demand, and the heavier fractions can make
up to 50% of the product of crude oil.
 Long chain Alkanes can be broken down into smaller more useful chain Alkanes and alkenes,
using catalyst to speed up reaction such us <zeolite> is called catalytic cracking.
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Unit 1 Chemistry – Chapter 6