Fractional distillation

Navy & RAF clean-up following Torrey Canyon oil spill

Synopsis

This lesson seeks to help students' understanding of oil extraction and fractional distillation through discovery of the different properties of each fraction.

The Torrey Canyon oil slick disaster and the efforts on the part of the RAF and Navy to minimise pollution, are used to highlight the need for different processes to dispel the separate compounds within crude oil. The extent to which the bombing operation could only ever dispel certain elements is used to demonstrate the array of tools required in clean-up efforts.

MOD Topic

Navy & RAF clean-up following Torrey Canyon oil spill

Curriculum Checklist

2a.

Curriculum Links

• Citizenship
• Maths

Prior Knowledge

The carbon cycle.
Compounds of oil.
Fossil fuels.

Learning Outcomes

Lower ability students will:

• Recall that crude oil is a mixture of different compounds.
• Recall that the compounds in crude oil are formed of hydrocarbons.
• Recall how crude oil can be separated by fractional distillation.

Average ability students will:

• Be able to describe how fractional distillation works.
• Be able to recall the properties of a number of fractions.

Higher ability students will:

• Be able to explain why crude oil can be separated by fractional distillation.
• Be able to explain the relationship between molecule size and the boil point of a fraction.

Lesson code

SC7