C1 Products from oil

PRODUCTS FROM OIL

Cracking hydrocarbons

• Hydrocarbon molecules can be broken down by heating them with steam to a very high temperature or by passing their vapours over a hot catalyst.
• Cracking produces alkanes and alkenes.
• Alkanes are unsaturated hydrocarbons.
• Alkenes turn bromine water from orange to colourless.

Making polymers from alkenes

• Plastics are made of very large molecules called polymers.
• Polymers are large molecules made when many small molecules (monomers) join together.
• Alkenes can be used to make polymers such as poly(ethene) and poly(propene).

New and useful polymers

• New polymers…