When crude oil is separated into fractions by fractional distillation, the supply of each fraction does not always match the market demand.
The table below shows the relative amount of six fractions in a sample of crude oil and the relative demand for each fraction.
| Crude Oil Fraction | Relative Amount (%) | Relative Demand (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) | 4 | 8 |
| Petrol | 9 | 28 |
| Kerosene | 13 | 20 |
| Diesel oil | 16 | 24 |
| Fuel oil | 46 | 12 |
| Bitumen | 12 | 8 |
Cracking is a process used to convert larger, less useful hydrocarbon fractions into smaller, more useful ones to help match supply with demand.
Use the information in the table to name the fraction that is in the greatest surplus and is most likely to be cracked.
130 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE Chemistry 9.1 Fuels, covering 9.1.1 Hydrocarbons and crude oil, 9.1.2 Fractional distillation of crude oil and its fractions, 9.1.3 The alkanes as a homologous series, 9.1.4 Complete and incomplete combustion, 9.1.5 Pollutants from burning fuels, 9.1.6 Hydrogen as a fuel and non-renewable fossil fuels, and 9.1.7 Cracking of larger alkanes. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.