Topic: Distillation of crude oil

Target group

High school / technical school student

Core curriculum

New core curriculum:

High school and technical high school. Chemistry – basic level:

XIII. Hydrocarbons. Pupil:

8) describes the course of crude oil distillation and coal pyrolysis; mentions product names these processes and their applications.

High school and technical high school. Chemistry – extended level:

XIII. Hydrocarbons. Pupil:

13) describes the course of crude oil distillation and coal pyrolysis; lists names products of these processes and their applications.

Old core curriculum:

High school and technical high school. Chemistry – basic level:

XIII. Hydrocarbons. Pupil:

8) describes the course of distillation of crude oil and coal pyrolysis; lists the product names of these processes and justifies their use.

General aim of education

The student discusses the process of crude distillation and the use of its products

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• what is the distillation of crude oil;

• to list product groups arising during the distillation of crude oil due to the state of aggregation;

• to list products created during the distillation of crude oil depending on the temperature in the process;

• to list and discuss the use of petroleum distillation products;

• to explain the difference in the distillation of crude oil and hard coal.

Methods/techniques

• activating

  • discussion.

• expository

  • talk.

• exposing

  • film.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Introduction

1. The teacher hands out Methodology Guide or green, yellow and red sheets of paper to the students to be used during the work based on a traffic light technique. He presents the aims of the lesson in the student's language on a multimedia presentation and discusses the criteria of success (aims of the lesson and success criteria can be send to students via e‑mail or posted on Facebook, so that students will be able to manage their portfolio).

2. The teacher together with the students determines the topic – based on the previously presented lesson aims – and then writes it on the interactive whiteboard/blackboard. Students write the topic in the notebook.

3. Health and safety – before starting the experiments, students familiarise themselves with the safety data sheets of the substances that will be used during the lesson. The teacher points out the need to be careful when working with them.

Realization

1. The teacher gives some information to introduce students to the topic of oil. Crude oil was extracted in antiquity. It was then used without any processing as a cure for skin diseases and rheumatism. It was also used for embalming corpses. Often oil was used for war purposes, for example in the fight against the enemy used flaming arrows and so‑called. Greek fire (flammable liquid, containing, among others, crude oil, tar, sulfur, saltpetre, rock salt, resins, quick lime). Oil, known as rock oil, was probably created as a result of the decomposition of plant and animal remains under anaerobic conditions, with the participation of anaerobic bacteria. It is a mixture of several thousand chemical substances, mainly hydrocarbons.

2. The teacher asks the students the question: „How much does contemporary civilization depend on oil?” - a discussion in which students are also trying to analyze data from the illustration „Oil resources at the end of 2012” from the abstract.

3. The teacher recommends students to prepare an observation journal in an abstract (or give out work cards / recommends to write in the notebooks). He informs that they will watch the film „Distillation of oil”. Before this happens, they are to formulate a research question and hypotheses and note them in the indicated place. After the screening, they set together observations, then conclusions, and write them down as well.

4. In reference to the film, the teacher asks the students questions: „Why is the distillation of oil called fractional (fractionated) distillation? Why do not an open source of heat be used to heat the flask during the distillation of oil? What are the differences in the properties of individual oil fractions? „From which faction will pentadecane be obtained?” - there is a discussion.

5. The teacher discusses natural gas in the context of its composition, pollution and occurrence. Then he displays the „Importance of natural gas” on the multimedia board, presenting this issue.

6. At the end of the lesson, the teacher asks students to do an interactive exercise - individual work.

Summary

1. The student indicated by the teacher sums up the lesson, telling what he has learned and what skills he/she has been practicing.

Homework

1. Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Distillation of crude oil

Crude oil was mined already in antiquity. It was then used, without any processing, as a cure for skin diseases and rheumatism. It was also used for embalming corpses. Often crude oil was used for military purposes, for example flaming arrows and the so‑called Greek fire (a flammable liquid containing, among others, crude oil, tar, sulphur, saltpetre, rock salt, resin, quicklime) were used in combat. Crude oil, also known as petroleum, was probably formed as a result of the decomposition of plant and animal remains under anaerobic conditions, with participation of anaerobic bacteria. It is a mixture of several thousand (solid, liquid and gaseous) chemical substances, mainly hydrocarbons. It contains also sulphur, nitrogen and oxygen compounds. It looks like a dark brown dense liquid with pungent odour. It burns with a yellow, smoking flame.

Crude oil processing began in Poland. In 1853 – Ignacy Łukasiewicz – Polish chemist, pharmacist and entrepreneur together with Jan Zeh developed a method for distillation of crude oil (fractional distillation, also known as rectification) and obtained in this way several products, such as kerosene. Łukasiewicz constructed a kerosene lamp in the same year. This discovery had a direct impact on the development of the oil industry. The oil mine he founded in Bóbrka was the first facility of this type in the world.

Crude oil is undoubtedly one of the most important raw materials used by humanity due to the high importance of individual components that can be obtained from it. That is why oil refineries work in the so‑called continuous manner. Refinery gases, i.e. a mixture of four first alkanes, are collected at the top of the distillation column. In addition, four fractions are obtained: petrol, kerosene, diesel oil, and mazut.

Fractions with a boiling point above 350°C are distilled under decreased pressure. For example oils, petroleum jelly, paraffin, and asphalt are obtained as a result.

Nowadays no one doubts that oil plays a huge role in the modern world. It is so valuable that fights for access to areas where it occurs often lead to armed conflicts. Products obtained during processing of this raw material surround us every day, starting from vehicles which drive on asphalt roads or fly in the sky and ending with oils, greases, tar, plastics, medicines, rubber, cosmetics, toys, explosives, clothing and other everyday products.

Natural gas is the so‑called blue fuel which is found alone or together with seams of crude oil. It is a mixture of light hydrocarbons the main component of which is methane. It contains also other hydrocarbons as well as nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and very often hydrogen sulphide and helium. Due to the last two components, after extraction, natural gas needs to be purified, because otherwise sulphur dioxide generated in the process would cause dangerous environmental pollution. After desulphurization, it exhibits high energy capacity and is associated with low emission of greenhouse gases and lack of dangerous waste. The importance of this energy resource, considered as the purest source of energy, is constantly increasing.

• The following natural mineral fuels can be distinguished: hard coal, brown coal, peat, crude oil and natural gas.

• The products of fractional distillation of crude oil under normal pressure are as follows: refinery gases, petrol, diesel oil and mazout.

• The following products are obtained as a result of distillation of mazout under decreased pressure: oils, petroleum asphalt, tar, petroleum jelly, and paraffin.