INTRODUCTION TO CRUIDE OIL AND PETROCHEMICALS
We described non-renewable energy as energy that can only last for a period of time. Example of such include crude oil and petrochemicals.
CRUDE OIL
Crude oil is made up of hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are organic compounds with only two elements – carbon and hydrogen. The major source of hydrocarbon is Crude oil or Petroleum. Petroleum means rock oil in Latin. It occurs as a dark, stickly, viscous liquid. Petroleum is found in huge underground deposits in the Niger delta region of Nigeria and many parts of the world. Natural gas is usually found together with it.
Petroleum is a mixture of gaseous, liquid and solid alkanes, cycloalkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons and others while natural gas consists mainly of methane.
Crude oil and natural gas originated from the remains of marine algae and animals buried over the years by sediments and mud. Nigeria currently ranks among the top ten oil producers of the world and major source of revenue to Nigeria.
Crude oil is used as fuel. Examples are kerosine for lighting and heating, petrol for motor vehicles, acroplanes, and also good solvent for grease and paint. gas oil for heating and diesel engines, lubricants for lubricating moving parts of engines and machines, petroleum jelly for skin and hair-care products while paraffin wax is used in making candles, water proof materials, polish, ointments and creams, bitumen for surfacing roads and air fields.
PETROCHEMICALS
Petrochemicals are substances that are manufactured from the by-products of petroleum. Petroleum and natural gas are now used increasingly to produce many organic compounds. Examples of such are ethanol, ethene, propanol, benzene and toluene. These small-molecule organic compounds are in turn used to make large molecule organic compound like plastics, synthetic rubber, detergents, insecticies and synthetic fibres like dacron and nylon which has made an impact in manufacturing industry.
REFINING OF CRUDE OIL
Crude oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons and to separate the constituents, we apply the method of fractional distillation. It is a process whereby petroleum is separated into different portions called fractions. Each fraction contains several compounds, all of which fall within a certain boiling point range. These fractions can be differentiated from one another by their different texture, color, odor, volatility and their relative ease of ignition and burning. Nigeria has a lot of crude oil which is distilled in refineries to give us useful products which include:
- petroleum gas
- petrol
- naphtha
- kerosene
- diesel oil
- lubricating oil
- bitumen
Group the following into either petroleum or parochemicals.
- Grease
- Detergen
- Plastics
- Engine oil
- Insecticides
- Nylon
- Petrol
- Kerosene
- Synthetic fibres
- Crude oil
IMPORTANCE OF CRUDE OIL AND PETROCHEMICALS
Apart from the uses of crude oil and petrochemical earlier enumerated above, they can also serve as a major source of income. Its exploration and exploitation (refining, distribution and marketing, exportation, etc) create employment opportunities.
MEASUREMENTS
Here we shall look at the measurement of density, force, and pressure and consider the differences between mass and weight.
DENSITY
You measured the volume of irregular solids by the displacement method. In the following activity, you will measure the masses and volumes of the solids provided and determine their ratios.
Measure the mass of the solid provided by using a suitable balance. Half fill a measuring cylinder with water and record the level of water. Now gently lower the solid to the bottom of the cylinder and record the new level of water in the cylinder. Repeat the activity for two other solids of the same material but different dimensions provided.
In the above activity, the ratio M/v is mass per unit volume and is constant for the three solids of the same material used. This ratio is known as density. Its unit is obtained from the units of mass and volume. Since the unit of mass is the kg and that of volume is m’, the unit of density is kg/m’ of kg/m-3.
The symbol for density is p.
The density of a substance is a natural property of the substance. Once we know the mass and volume of a body, then, its density is equally known. Density varies from substance to substance. For the same type of substance, the density is constant no matter what the shape or mass of the substance may be. But, as you must have found, the densities of different materials are not the same.
From the three states of matter which you studied you identified some differences between solids, liquids, and gases. For a given volume of solids, liquids, and gases, except in a few cases, the mass of the solid is greater than that of the liquid while that of the liquid is greater than the Mass of the same volume of a gas. In other words, a solid is generally denser than a liquid and a liquid denser than a gas.
The hydrometer has a narrow graduated stem, wide bulb, and a weighted end. The stem is narrow so that the instrument is made very sensitive to small changes in density when placed in different liquids. The bulb is wide so that the weight can be supported in the liquid. The weighted end allows the hydrometer to float in upright position and become stable in the liquid. Lead shot is enclosed in the weighted end.
When placed in liquids, it sinks to different levels depending on the densities of these liquids The greater the density, the less the volume of the instrument immersed in the liquid. People who charge batteries use the hydrometer to check the density of the acid in their batteries.
We sometimes need to compare densities. The density of water is taken as a standard to which all other densities are compared. When we do this, we obtain a quantity called the relative density. Since mercury has a density of 13.6 x 10×3 kgm and that of water 1 x 10X3kg m, then the relative density of mercury is 13.6. This shows that mercury is 13.6 times as dense as water. Petrol which is less dense than water has a relative density of 0.72. We can drive the actual density of a substance from a knowledge of its relative density.
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