• Organic compounds.
• Inorganic compounds.

• Compounds originating from living things that contain the carbon element bonded covalently with other elements such as hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorus.

• Compounds originating from non-living materials such as oxides of carbon, carbonate compounds and cyanide compounds.

Example of structural formula:

Example of structural formula:

• The main source of hydrocarbons is petroleum or crude oil.
• Petroleum is formed from the remains of plants and animals that perished at the bottom of the ocean, millions of years ago.
• Petroleum is a mixture of simple or long-chain hydrocarbons.
• Petroleum cannot be used before processing.
• It needs to be refined into its constituents through a distillation process.
• The two stages of oil refining are fractional distillation and cracking.

• The fractions of hydrocarbons in petroleum are separated at different temperatures according to the size of the hydrocarbons.
• During the fractional distillation process, petroleum is heated and streamed into a distillation tower.
• The fractions in petroleum can be separated because each fraction of the hydrocarbons has its own boiling point.
• Hydrocarbons with a lower boiling point will vaporise first, and then rise to the top of the tower before condensing and separating.
• Hydrocarbons with a higher boiling point are collected at the bottom of the tower and will condense into liquid.
• There are two main uses of hydrocarbon compounds derived from fractional distillation:
  • As fuels.
  • As raw materials for the petrochemical industry.
• Petroleum fractional distillation process is as shown below:

• Cracking is the process of breaking long chain hydrocarbons into smaller hydrocarbons.
• In the cracking process, compounds of large hydrocarbon molecules are heated at a high temperature and pressure.
• A catalyst such as a mixture of aluminium oxide, \(Al_2O_3\) and silicon(IV) oxide, \(SiO_2\) are usually used to increase the rate of reaction.
• Cracking process produces:
  • smaller hydrocarbons such as petrol that is used as fuel.
  • alkane and alkene hydrocarbons with shorter chains, to be used as raw materials in the manufacturing of polymers, medicines, detergents, solvents, fertilizers and many more useful products.
• The demand for smaller-sized hydrocarbons is higher because it combusts easily, and is used as fuel.
• The separation of petroleum compounds through fractional distillation cannot meet the high demands of smaller sized hydrocarbons.
• Examples of cracking reaction is as shown below:

• Based on our current rate of usage, scientists predict that most of the petroleum reserves on earth will be exhausted within 100 years.
• Therefore, there is a need for proactive and effective steps to produce alternative resources to replace petroleum.
• Alternatives to hydrocarbon refer to alternative energy sources other than nonrenewable fossil fuels.
• Biomass is organic matter of plants and animals.
• It contains latent energy derived from the sun.
• These alternative resources are renewable.
• Alternative energy sources can be derived from many chemical processes derived from biomass.
• Examples of alternative energy sources is as shown below:

• Organic compounds.
• Inorganic compounds.

• Compounds originating from living things that contain the carbon element bonded covalently with other elements such as hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorus.

• Compounds originating from non-living materials such as oxides of carbon, carbonate compounds and cyanide compounds.

Example of structural formula:

Example of structural formula:

• The main source of hydrocarbons is petroleum or crude oil.
• Petroleum is formed from the remains of plants and animals that perished at the bottom of the ocean, millions of years ago.
• Petroleum is a mixture of simple or long-chain hydrocarbons.
• Petroleum cannot be used before processing.
• It needs to be refined into its constituents through a distillation process.
• The two stages of oil refining are fractional distillation and cracking.

• The fractions of hydrocarbons in petroleum are separated at different temperatures according to the size of the hydrocarbons.
• During the fractional distillation process, petroleum is heated and streamed into a distillation tower.
• The fractions in petroleum can be separated because each fraction of the hydrocarbons has its own boiling point.
• Hydrocarbons with a lower boiling point will vaporise first, and then rise to the top of the tower before condensing and separating.
• Hydrocarbons with a higher boiling point are collected at the bottom of the tower and will condense into liquid.
• There are two main uses of hydrocarbon compounds derived from fractional distillation:
  • As fuels.
  • As raw materials for the petrochemical industry.
• Petroleum fractional distillation process is as shown below:

• Cracking is the process of breaking long chain hydrocarbons into smaller hydrocarbons.
• In the cracking process, compounds of large hydrocarbon molecules are heated at a high temperature and pressure.
• A catalyst such as a mixture of aluminium oxide, \(Al_2O_3\) and silicon(IV) oxide, \(SiO_2\) are usually used to increase the rate of reaction.
• Cracking process produces:
  • smaller hydrocarbons such as petrol that is used as fuel.
  • alkane and alkene hydrocarbons with shorter chains, to be used as raw materials in the manufacturing of polymers, medicines, detergents, solvents, fertilizers and many more useful products.
• The demand for smaller-sized hydrocarbons is higher because it combusts easily, and is used as fuel.
• The separation of petroleum compounds through fractional distillation cannot meet the high demands of smaller sized hydrocarbons.
• Examples of cracking reaction is as shown below:

• Based on our current rate of usage, scientists predict that most of the petroleum reserves on earth will be exhausted within 100 years.
• Therefore, there is a need for proactive and effective steps to produce alternative resources to replace petroleum.
• Alternatives to hydrocarbon refer to alternative energy sources other than nonrenewable fossil fuels.
• Biomass is organic matter of plants and animals.
• It contains latent energy derived from the sun.
• These alternative resources are renewable.
• Alternative energy sources can be derived from many chemical processes derived from biomass.
• Examples of alternative energy sources is as shown below: