WHERE DOES GASOLINE COME FROM?

1. WHERE DOES GASOLINE COME FROM? WHY IS THERE A FLAME BURNING AT OIL REFINERIES? Questions for ME, Mr. Asheim

2. Were does Gasoline Come from? • Gasoline is one of the products that can be taken out of Crude Oil, a dark homogeneous substance that is found under the ground.

3. How Do We Process Crude Oil? • We us a refining process to separate the different components into separate usable products • i.e. Gasoline, Kerosene, Diesel, Heating or Fuel Oil, Waxes, Methane and Hydrogen • This process is called distillation and can be seen in a simple example

4. Distillation Example • If you dissolve Salt into water, there are a few techniques that will separate the salt and the water. • The easiest way is to evaporate the water and then catch the water vapor on a condenser (plate).

5. Applying Distillation to Crude • Crude Oil can be distilled into its components as seen in the diagram

6. What to do with the Gases? • Methane and Hydrogen are two light gases that are the last products to be separated in the oil refining process. • They are released in low enough quantities that they are not worth capturing and saving, but should we just vent them into the atmosphere

7. Burn the Gases • Methane is a major problem when it is released into the atmosphere. • Methane is a very reactive green house gas which is not beneficial in the atmosphere • Burning methane creates Water and Carbon Dioxide. Both of which are abundant in the atmosphere and fairly stable.

8. The Flame • Methane is burned off of most refineries and can be burned off old landfills once they start producing methane. • Although the gases are not being directly used for something, it is cleaner to burn the fuel then let it pollute the atmosphere.