Fractional Distillation of Crude Oil
BOILING POINTS AND STRUCTURES OF HYDROCARBONS
The boiling points of organic compounds can give important clues to other physical properties. A liquid boils when its vapor pressure is equal to the atmospheric pressure. Vapor pressure is determined by the kinetic energy of molecules. Kinetic energy is related to temperature and the mass and velocity of the molecules. When the temperature reaches the boiling point, the average kinetic energy of the liquid particles is sufficient to overcome the forces of attraction that hold molecules in the liquid state. Then these molecules break away from the liquid forming the gas state.
Vapor pressure is caused by an equilibrium between molecules in the gaseous state and molecules in the liquid state. When molecules in the liquid state have sufficient kinetic energy, they may escape from the surface and turn into a gas. Molecules with the most independence in individual motions achieve sufficient kinetic......
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