Professional Documents
Culture Documents
When hydrocarbons burn they are reacting with oxygen in the air. In
general, the smaller the molecule the better it will mix and then react
with the air.
Small molecules
Big molecules
Medium
molecules
Smaller molecules
Catalytic
Heat to cracker
Big Molecules
vaporise
Molecules
break up
H H H H H H H H
Octane
H C C C C C C C C H
H H H H H H H H
Heat
hexane catalyst
pressure
H H H H H H H H ethene
H C C C C C C H + C C
Ethene
H H
Used as H H H H H H is used
a fuel to make
C8H18 C6H14 + C2H4 plastics
H H H H H H H H H H
H C C C C C C C C H + C C
H H
H H H H H H H H
ethene
octane
H H H H H H H H H H H H And
C C H C C C C C C C C C C lots
more..
H H H H H H H H H H H H
1 2 3 4 5 thousands
H H Pressure H H poly(e)thene
n C C C C
high
H H temperature H H n
ethene catalyst
Boardworks Ltd 2003
Polypropene
Ethene is only one alkene. Other unsaturated
molecules such as propene, vinyl chloride and
styrene can also be polymerised to produce a
range of plastics. E.g. propene
H H H CH3
H C Poly(propene)
n
C C H C C
H H H H n
propene
F F
F F
n C C C C
F F F F n
tetrafluoroethene Poly(tetrafluoroethane)
or PTFE
H Cl
H Cl C C
n C C H H
H H n
pvc
Vinyl chloride
9) full up: unable to add more atoms 5) the different substances collected
SATURATED from distillation
FRACTIONS
A. styrene
B. ethene
C. p.v.c.
D. propane