From the Ground to All Around

Did you know that over 6,000 products are made from hydrocarbons, also known as fossil fuels? Once crude oil is heated and separated out, it can be used for many different purposes. Oil can be used to make different types of products such as plastic, make up, sneakers, soccer balls, toothpaste, petroleum jelly, jet fuel, gasoline, and more.

One of the first steps in refining crude oil into useful products involves a separation process called distillation. This process requires that a liquid be heated to its boiling point, and the produced vapor cooled so that it condenses into a highly purified liquid form. The distilling of water is a well-known example. Water is heated to its boiling point, 212 degrees Fahrenheit, so that it vaporizes. The vapor is cooled, and the resulting condensed water is extremely pure. Distillation of crude oil is more complicated because it is a mixture of hydrocarbons, each of which has its own boiling point.

In this lesson, students will conduct experiments to demonstrate the refining process.

Use this video From Crude to Refined to introduce the concept of refining to students in your class.