Crude oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbon molecules formed over millions of years when the remains of microscopic sea creatures trapped in sediments were converted by heat and pressure into crude oil
Member rating: No Rating | Words: | Submitted: Wed Aug 06 2003
On the left is an image preview of every page of this document, and below are the first 150 words with formatting removed:
Crude Oil Essay Crude oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbon molecules formed over millions of years when the remains of microscopic sea creatures trapped in sediments were converted by heat and pressure into crude oil. The most abundant of these mixtures are the ones containing hydrogen and carbon only. These hydrocarbons can take on a number of different forms, i.e. alkanes, alkenes and alkynes. They vary in size and shape and viscosity. By manipulating these chains of hydrocarbons you can create any number of useful substances as they are very adaptable. However there are lots of compounds that also contain some of the following; oxygen, sulphur or nitrogen. The purer hydrocarbon compounds are the most required for these produce a higher temperature when they are burned which is the primary use for it as it generates an excess amount of energy when burned and therefore is a useful fuel. The...


