Oil and plastics

English reading pages  17-20   6-8

Crude oil and fossil fuels.

The three major fossil fuels are coal, oil and natural gas. These were formed in the earth's crust from once living material. These fuels are a non-renewable fuel source. Coal is formed from plant material and gas and oil are formed from bodies of marine microorganisms. 

Oil formation

Fractional distillation. 

 Oil is a mixture of many different hydrocarbons. At a refinery the oil is separated into different fractions - groups of hydrocarbons that have different boiling points. This boiling is done in a fractional distillation column. At the start the oil is heated to 350- 400 degrees centigrade. The oil boils and the vapor passes up the column where it is trapped at different levels because the different fractions cool and condense at different temperatures. The fractions at the top are light/ small molecules and those at the bottom are heavy/ large molecules. Larger molecules are cracked (heated with catalysts) untill they break into smaller molecules and then are distilled.      

362. 

a) What are fuels/polttoaineet?

b) Where do crude oil and natural gas originate from?

363. Answer using the diagrams on page 243

a) What percentage of total energy consumption in Finland in 2020 comes from oil, natural gas and coal?

How has the percentage of energy production in Finland changed over the last 20 years?

b) What are the three biggest uses of energy?   

364. Crude oil contains different hydrocarbons.

a. What elements do hydrocarbons contain?

b. Why are hydrocarbons used as fuels?

c. What are the products formed when hydrocarbons are burned?

d. Give an example of a hydrocarbon. Draw its structural formula.

366. The functioning of car catalysts is shown in the picture on page 245. 

a. How do catalytic converters make exhaust gases less harmful?

b. What problems still remain with the use of catalytic converters? How should catalytic converters be further developed? 

367. Below are some of the compounds that come from oil refining or further processing. Which of the compounds are hydrocarbons, alcohols and other. 

a) pentane  

b) benzene 

c) methanol 

d) H2S (hydrogen sulphide)  

e) ethene 

f) ethanol

368. Crude oil is processed into various products using fractional distillation. 

a) What is fractional distillation based on?

b) Which of the fractional distillation substances have the lowest boiling point? 

c) Which part of the distillation fraction contains the largest molecules?

369.

a) What is biogas? Why is biogas environmentally friendlier than natural gas even though both of them are almost pure methane?

b) What problems are associated with the use of biofuels? 

Polymerisation

Polymers are large organic macromolecules. They are made up of smaller molecules called monomers that either contain the same molecule repeated, or two different types of molecule. Plastics are polymers, the raw materials of which come from the processes above.  

Natural

Natural sources of plastics include:

• • plants - from which cellulose can be extracted

  • trees - from which latex, amber and resin can be extracted

  • animals - from which horn and milk (used to make glues) are obtained

  • insects - from which shellac (used to make polish) is obtained

Synthetic

Synthetic plastics are chemically manufactured from:

• • crude oil

  • coal

  • natural gas

Example of polymerisation - addition reaction   

ethene --> polythene

Temperature = 200 °C   Pressure = 2000 atmospheres  Chloroethene --> polychloroethene PVC

= approx 76 °C 

K = °C + 273

-273 °C = 0K

Plastics recycling

Most plastics are not biodegradable meaning there are no microorganisms that can break them down. For this reason plastics should be recycled rather than thrown away. Different symbols exist for the recycling of different plastics. Plastics that are recycled are either reused or burnt to release the energy held in the polymers.   

372. missä ympärilläsi näkyvissä esineissä tai asioissa on käytetty jotakin muovia?

Where in the visible environment around you can you find objects that are plastics?

373. a) mitä muovia lyhenne tarkoitta

What do the following plastics abbreviations stand for?

• 1. PET - polyethylene

  2. PP - polypropene

  3. PS - polysytrene

  4. PE-LD polyethylene low density

374.  Ydista monomeeri vastaava polymeeri

Connect the monomer to the ploymer

• 1. eteeni/ethene A. PS

  2. polyvinyylikloridi /polyvynlchloride B. PP

  3. propeeni / propene C. PVC

  4. Styreeni/styrene D. PE

375.

a.  Kerro esimerkki muovituotteesta, joka ennen valmistettiin jostain muusta matierialista.

Give an example of a plastic product that used to be made of another material.

b Pohdi, minkä ominaisuuden vuoksi tuotetta on alettu muovista.

Discuss for which properties this product is now made of plastic.

376.

a.  Phodi, millä toimilla voisit itse vähentää muovijätetta.

Discuss how you reduce the amount of your plastic watse.

b. Pohdi mitä etuja ja haittoja on muovijätteen kierrätyksestä

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of recycling plastics.

c. Pohdi, mita etuja ja haittoja muovijätteen polttamisesta.    

Discuss the advantages of burning plastics for energy.

377.

Muovilaadun voi selvittää tiheyden avulla. Taulukossa on yleisimpien muovien tiheyksiä

Density of plastics can be found in the table below.

Use the table to answer the following questions.

• 1. Mitkä pitäisi nesteen tiheyden olla, että voisit erotta polypropeenin ja polystyreenin toisistaan kelluntakokeella ?

What density of liquid could you use to tell the difference between polypropylene PP and polystyrene PS ?  

the density would need to be between 0.91 and 1.05  

For example WATER!

b. Mitkä muovilaadut uppoavat vedessä?

Which plastics will sink in water.?

Clue The density of a substance that sinks in water is higher than that of water.

PVC 1,3

PET 1,35

PS 1,05