Animation of the composition of crude oil. The barrel opens to reveal the molecules making up the oil within. Crude oil is a mixture of a huge number of different hydrocarbons, which can be divided into four main categories. Alkanes make up around 30% of a typical crude oil, by weight. These are saturated (no double bonds) hydrocarbons that may be linear or branched, and contain around 6-20 carbon atoms. Naphthenes make up roughly half the oil. These are cyclic alkanes, similar in size to the alkane components, but with one or more carbon rings. Aromatics make up some 15%, being molecules with aromatic rings, those with delocalised electrons, such as benzene and naphthalene. Finally, 5% of the mass is made up of much larger, more complex molecules called asphaltenes. These take many forms but may contain several linked rings, side chains and some hetero atoms, such as sulfur (yellow) and nitrogen (blue). Crude oil is extracted from the ground and the components separated out for various uses, including fuels, plastic manufacture and the chemical industry. | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit : | Science Photo Library / RHYS LEWIS, AHS, DECD, UNISA |
Model Release : | Non requis |
Durée : | 01:10 Minutes |
Aspect ratio : | 16/9 |
Restrictions : | - |