Extraction of

crude oil and its

effect on the
environment
Points to be covered
• Crude oil and the extraction of alkanes.
• Fractional distillation and the reason
behind fractional distillation.
• The extraction quantity of crude oil in

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the last 4 decades
• Equations for fractional distillation
• Pollutuants that are emitted due to the
extraction from crude oil
• The effect on the environment due to the
extraction of crude oil
• Acicity of oxides of sulfer and nitrogen
and toxicity of carbon monoxide 2
Crude oil and the extraction of alkanes
Crude oil

Crude oil is the remains of organisms like

plants and animals that died out millions of

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years ago. It is a complex mixture of
hydrocarbons. It is an important source of
petrol, diesel, kerosene, feedstock (such as
poly(ethene)) and etc… The raw crude oil
does not have much use for us, but when it
is being processed into smaller and smaller
chains, its volatility and less viscous which
makes it more useful.

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Fractional distillation

The processing of crude oil

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Fractional distillation is the process of
separating different mixtures into smaller
and smaller chains which are more useful.
First, the crude oil is made to enter the still
through a pipe. The crude oil is then
evaporated and its vapors with different
density, boiling point, volatility and
viscosity so they condense at different
columns. The gas forms leaves the still
through the top, liquids at the middle and
solids through the bottom of the still.
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Use of crude oil in the last 4 decades
Usage of crude oil in 4 decades
4.5 The usage of crude oil in the last 4 decades
4 have been steadily increasing except for the

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3.5 recent few years due to the corona virus.
Usage in 10 million barrels

But if that situation had not been there, the

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usage would have skyrocketed in these few
2.5
years. This is because the extraction and
2 use of the products from the crude oil are
1.5 very popular.
1

0.5

0
1990 2000 2010 2020

Year

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Equations
Equations of the extraction of crude oil
As I previously mentioned that the use of
shorter chains of hydrocarbons are higher
than the use of longer chained hydrocarbons,

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which is why cracking is necessary. In
cracking, longer chains of hydrocarbons are
broken into smaller chains with the use of
high pressure and heat. The starting
compound will always fit for the rule of an
alkane along with the first product. The rest
of the C and H atoms forms the second
product. For example: cracking Hexane
gives:
Hexane  butane+ethene
C6H14  C4H10 + C2H4 6
Pollutants that are emitted by
the extraction of crude oil
The pollutants
The extraction of fossil fuels releases toxic
gases into the atmosphere like carbon
monoxide, sulfur and nitrogen. Sulfur and
nitrogen are not toxic unless and until they

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combine with the oxygen in the atmosphere,
as with the case in vehicle engine, where an
incomplete combustion of petrol and diesel
causes sulfur and nitrogen to release which
then combines with the oxygen in the air to
form oxides of sulfur and nitrogen. For
example:
N2 + 02  2NO
2NO + 02 2NO2
4NO2 + O2 +2H20 4HNO3 7
Pollutants that are emitted by
the extraction of crude oil

The effects of the pollutants

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As I mentioned, the products extracted from
crude oil has impurities in them. These
impurities such as oxides of sulfur and
nitrogen and carbon monoxide from car
engines can get into the atmosphere and
cause global warming. Carbon monoxide is
toxic which has a higher binding state than
oxygen, binds to hemoglobin to become
carboxyhemoglobin and causes a shortage of
oxygen in the body and is toxic which can
cause carbon monoxide poisoning
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Thank
You
Done By: Dinesh Prabu