Crude oil and hydrocarbons
hydrocarbonA compound that contains hydrogen and carbon only. are compoundA substance formed by the chemical union of two or more elements. that contain hydrogen and carbon atomThe smallest part of an element that can exist. only.
Crude oil
crude oilMixture of hydrocarbons, mainly alkanes, formed over millions of years from the remains of ancient dead marine organisms. is a complex mixtureTwo or more substances that are not joined together. The substances can be elements, compounds, or both. of hydrocarbons. Carbon atoms can form four covalentA covalent substance is a molecule containing one or more covalent bonds (shared pairs of electrons). bonds, and join together to form chains and rings in hydrocarbon moleculeA collection of two or more atoms held together by chemical bonds..
In the ball and stick models below, carbon atoms are black and hydrogen atoms are white.
Crude oil is a finite resourceA resource that is no longer being made or which is made extremely slowly, such as crude oil and metal ores. because it is made extremely slowly over millions of years, or is no longer being made. However, crude oil is an important source of:
- fuelMaterial that is used to produce heat, like coal, oil or gas.
- feedstockA raw material used to provide reactants for an industrial reaction. for the petrochemicalSubstance made from crude oil using chemical reactions. industry
A feedstock is a raw materialBasic material that goods are made from such as crops, metals, wood and animal products such as wool and leather. used to provide reactantsSubstances present at the start of a chemical reaction. for an industrial reaction. A petrochemical is a substance made from crude oil using chemical reactions. For example, ethene is produced from crude oil. It is used as feedstock to make poly(ethene), a polymerA large molecule formed from many identical smaller molecules known as monomers..