Crude Oil: Cracking Mechanisms, Reforming and Octane Rating
Students will learn about crude oil as a fossil fuel and how it is separated into useful fractions (e.g., petrol, diesel) through fractional distillation.
Key Questions
- Compare the mechanisms of thermal cracking (homolytic fission, free-radical chain) and catalytic cracking (heterolytic fission, carbocation intermediates over zeolite), predicting how each mechanism influences the degree of branching and unsaturation in the products.
- Explain the thermodynamic and kinetic basis for catalytic cracking using zeolites, including how shape-selective pore channels direct product distribution via size-exclusion of carbocation intermediates.
- Evaluate the relationship between molecular structure (chain length, degree of branching, aromaticity) and octane rating, and analyse how catalytic reforming converts straight-run naphtha fractions into higher-octane components.
MOE Syllabus Outcomes
Suggested Methodologies
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