COMPOSITION OF Crude Oil

(C.O.) And PETROLEUM Products

-Specific gravity varies inversely with
its H/C atomic ratio.

- sp.gr for C.O. ranges 0.7----1

Composition of chemical families very

different from each other
COMPOSITION OF Crude Oil
(C.O.) And PETROLEUM Products

Pure components:

 It is a mixture of pure components

 ---extremely numerous
 ----so, we deal with hydrocarbon
families
 COMPOSITION OF PETROLEUM
 1- HYDROCARBONS
 Contains only carbon and hydrogen

 Grouped into different families Acc structure.

 Linked by single bons (saturated)(anes)

 Linked by multiple bonds (un-saturated)
(enes and ynes)
COMPOSITION OF PETROLEUM
 1- saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons
(Paraffins or alkanes)
(CnH2n+2)
 Paraffins could be:
 Gases; C1-C4 (in associated gases)

 Liquids; C5-C15 (in gasoline, kerosene,

diesel fuel)

 Solids; C16+ (waxes)

saturated aliphatic
hydrocarbons
 Straight Chain of carbon atoms carrying
0-3 H except methane.

 B.P. increase with number of C atoms

 For low C atoms, B. P. increase by 25 by

addition of 1 C
 Isoparaffins or Isoalkanes
 Branching can take place at different
locations in the chain, giving the possibility
of, for equal numbers of carbon atoms,
different molecules called isomers
 Examples: iso-pentane


 Isoparaffins have BP lower than n-paraffins with

the same number of carbon atoms.
:Note: Generalizations

 Boiling point rises with increase in molecular weight.

 Boiling point of a branched chain is lower than for a
straight chain hydrocarbon of the same molecular
weight.
 Melting point increases with molecular weight.
 Melting point of a branched chain is lower than for a
straight-chain hydrocarbon of the same weight
unless branching leads to symmetry.
 Gravity increases with increase of molecular weight.
 Saturated cyclic HC
cycloparaffins or Naphthenes
CnH2n (for single ring)
 Contains a ring in all or part of its
construction.

 BP and density higher than alkanes

 In C.O., ring have 5-6 C atoms

physical properties of selected
cycloparaffins
 Cycloparaffins

The general formula for cycloparaffins having a

single ring is CnH2n. There also exist
cycloparaffins with two, three, or four, rings
attached. Hence decalin has two rings attached
to each other and the general formula is C nH2n-2
Aromatic Hydrocarbons
(CnH2n-6)
 Cyclic and polyunsaturated (high
conc. In C.O

 Benzene, toluene, xylenes are basic

raw material for petrochemical
industry.

 basic pattern of aromatics

Aromatic Hydrocarbons
(CnH2n-6)
 Hydrogen atoms could be substituted
by the following manner:
 - By alkyl group:,(dimethyle bezene)
orthoxylene, metaxylene, paraxylene
 - By other aromatics
(naphthalene, anthracene)
 By naphthenic ring
(tetralin)
physical properties of selected
aromatics
 They also are large contributors to the
octane number* of a gasoline.
 On the other hand,
 the higher aromatics cause
environmental and public health
problems.
 Some aromatics have high rates of
reaction with ozone to form visual
pollutants in the air
 and some are claimed to be potentially
carcinogenic
Octane number
 defined by comparison with the mixture of iso-octane
and normal heptane which would have the same
anti-knocking capacity as the fuel under test: the
percentage, by volume, of iso-octane in that mixture
is the octane number of the fuel. This does not
mean, however, that the gasoline actually contains
these hydrocarbons in these proportions. It simply
means that it has the same detonation resistance as
the described mixture. Branched paraffins increase
octane number while normal paraffins (straight
chain) decrease octane number
Unsaturated aliphatic HC
olefins or alkenes
 Involve one or more double bonds
between C atoms

 Have many isomers

 There are little or no olefins in crude oil or

straight run products.

 The first few compounds are very

important raw material for petrochemical
industry.
Heteroaromatic organic
compounds
 1- SULFUR COMPOUNDS
 Sulfur conc. Ranges from 0.1 to 8wt%

Inorganic forms:
Elemental sulfur, S---hydrogen sulfide,
H2S---carbonyle sulfide--COS
Organic molecules:
Sulfides R-S-R --- Disulfides R-S-S-R (in
light factions)---Thiols or Mercaptans, R-
SH (acidic characteristics)---thiophenes,
(in frctions boiling over 250C)
 Problems of sulfur compounds

 - Unpleasant odor

 - SO2 formed by combustion

 - Catalyst poisoning
Heteroaromatic organic
compounds
2 - Oxygen COMPOUNDS

Responsible for petroleum acidity

Could be found in the following
compounds:
- Phenols
- Furanes and benzofuranes
- Carboxylic acids R— COOH
- Esters R - C O O - R ’
Heteroaromatic organic
compounds
3 - Nitrogen COMPOUNDS (in frctions
boiling over 250C; concentrated in
resins and ashaltene)

-
 Problems of nitrogen compounds

 - Pyridines with basic nitrogen are

responsible for poison to acid
catalysts

 - Could appear in light cuts (from

cracking) causing instability in
storage, brown color and gums
Organometallic compounds
 Found in the heaviest fractions

 Metal atoms such as nickel and

vanadium are found

 Poison catalyst
Some characteristics of 250+ C
fractions
 Compounds whose Chemistry is
Incompletely Defined

 Asphaltenes
 They comprise an accumulation of condensed poly-
nuclear aromatic layers linked by saturated chains
 A folding of the construction shows the aromatic
layers to be in piles. These are shiny black solids
whose molecular weight can vary from 1000 to
100,000.
 Compounds whose Chemistry is
Incompletely Defined

 Resins
 Resins are generally molecules having aromatic
characteristics and contain heteroatoms (N, O, S,
occasionally Ni and V);

 Their molecular weight ranges from 500 to 1000.

Characteristics of Petroleum
Products
Petroleum Hydrocarbon
Boiling Range (°C) Boiling Range (°F)
Fractions Range
Light gases C2-C4 -90 ~ 1 -130 ~ 30
Gasoline (light and
heavy)
C4-C10 -1 ~ 200 30 ~ 390

Naphtha (light and

heavy)
C4-C11 -1 ~ 205 30 ~ 400

Jet fuels C9-C14 150 ~ 225 300 ~ 490

Kerosene C11-C14 205 ~ 225 400 ~ 490
Diesel fuel C11-C16 205 ~ 290 400 ~ 550
Light gas oil C14-C18 255 ~ 315 490 ~ 600
Heavy gas oil C18-C28 315 ~ 425 600 ~ 800
Wax C18-C26 315 ~ 500 600 ~ 930
Lubricating oil >C25 >400 >750
Vacuum gas oil C28-C55 425 ~ 600 800 ~ 1100
Residuum >C55 >600 >1100
 QUIZ 2
 1- iso-paraffins have lower boiling points than
normal paraffins
 2- limits of benzene and aromatics in
gasoline

 3- petrochemical products
COMPOSITION OF Crude Oil (C.O.)
And PETROLEUM
Products
reference: PETROLEUM REFINING V.1: Crude Oil.
Petroleum Products. Process Flowsheets
Jean-Pierre Wauquie