2 the raw

The raw material for plastics is crude oil, a complex mixture of thousands of
compounds. Four per cent of the world’s production is made into plastics.
processing to make products such
as plastics.
Other petrochemicals 4%
Heating, These fractions are still complex
electrical & Plastics 4% mixtures of compounds and no
energy chemical changes have yet taken
All other 5%
42% place. They need to be chemically
distillation. The mixture is separated altered to make them into more
Transport useful products with different
into fractions, not into individual
45% melting and boiling points and
compounds. Fractions contain a
mixture of compounds whose boiling different chemical properties. There

Because the compounds in crude oil temperatures are similar. are two types of processes for this:

have different masses, and therefore The diagram on page 2 shows Cracking
boil at different temperatures, it is the fractional distillation process. It is
possible to separate them by a mainly the naphtha and gas oil Cracking breaks large molecules
process known as fractional fractions which are used for further into smaller ones which are more

ACTIVITY 1 A range of
molecules
a b showing
different ways
Most compounds in crude oil are hydrocarbon molecules – in which
they contain carbon and hydrogen atoms only. These chemical bonds
diagrams show a few of the compounds which are found in are formed
between atoms.
crude oil. Diagram (a) shows ethylene.
c
1 Draw the formula of each of these compounds in the
following form: CH2=CH2 This is the structural formula of
ethylene
2 And then write the formula in this form: C H . This is
2 4
the molecular formula of ethylene
d e
The mass of a molecule depends on the number of carbon
and hydrogen atoms in it. A carbon atom has a mass of
12 units; a hydrogen atom has a mass of 1 unit. In the
example shown below, the mass of an ethane molecule,
C2H6, is [2x12] + [6x1] = 30 units g
3 Work out the mass of the molecules shown here (a-g).
f
4 If the boiling point of the compound increases as its
mass rises, arrange the compounds in order of increasing represents a carbon atom
boiling point. represents a hydrogen atom
represents a chemical bond
This diagram shows the fractional distillation process. It is mainly the naphtha and gas oil fractions which
are used for further processing to make chemicals such as plastics.
monomers react and join up together,
small amounts of special catalysts are
fractionizing refinery gases added to the polymerization reactor.
column
40°C Polymer manufacturing has
gasoline
110°C become increasingly sophisticated in
heater
naphtha
180°C recent years, as researchers have
kerosine developed new compounds to meet
crude 260°C
oil gas oil the needs of specific design
340°C
challenges. For example a new family
long residue
of catalysts known as metallocenes
give greater control over how
useful – and therefore of greater The small monomer molecules
monomers join up in a more ordely
value. For example, very high boiling are reacted together to form a
fashion. This can make the resulting
point fractions are cracked to polymer rather like paper clips to
plastic much stronger and transparent.
produce gasoline and gas oil form a chain. In order to make the
fractions. Today, most cracking uses
catalysts, but some heat treatment
still occurs.
ACTIVITY 2
Reforming 1 One of the simplest synthetic polymers is polyethylene.
This is made from ethylene.
Reforming changes the internal
The structure of Part of the structure
structure of molecules to produce
ethylene is: of polyethylene is:
different compounds with a greater
H H
usefulness – and therefore higher H H H H H H H
value. By altering conditions – such C C
as temperature, pressure and the H H
C C C C C C C
catalyst – the cracking and reforming
List the structural differences H H H H H H H
techniques can now be controlled to between the two molecules.
produce exactly the blend of
compounds that will be most useful 2 The monomers react by the end of one
at a particular time. molecule bonding to the end of another. In
Naphtha is cracked by mixing it this way chains are formed. This is rather
with steam and heating it to 800°C. It like paper clips being linked together.
Draw your own picture of how this
is cooled rapidly to 400°C, causing
chain formation takes place.
chemical changes. The mixture of C6
to C10 compounds is converted to a
small number of C2, C3 and C4 Polymer chains have very different properties to monomers
compounds which contain carbon-
carbon double bonds, C=C. Monomers Polymers

The simple compounds are often

reactive compounds unreactive compounds
known as ‘basic chemicals’ – many of
these are shown on this card in small number of carbon atoms in a very large number of carbon atoms in
Activity 1. molecule a chain
All the basic chemicals are small
molecules containing between two usually a gas or a liquid always a solid

and seven carbon atoms. It is these

relatively cheap compounds to nearly always more valuable to sell
molecules which are the ‘monomers’ produce
from which the ‘polymers’ are then very useful once they have been
made. of little use as they are processed

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