Crude oil is heated until it turns into a gas . The gases enter a fractionating column. A fractionating column has a temperature gradient. It is hot at the bottom and cold at the top. The large hydrocarbon have high boiling point, so they turn into liquids early on drain out near the bottom of the column . The small hydrocarbons have low boiling point so they turn back into liquids early near the top of the column , where it's cooler. This separates the oil out into fractions . Each fraction contains a mixture of hydrocarbons with similar boiling points.
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