The chemical composition of petroleum and natural gas

Crude oil and natural gas are among the conventional raw materials that are extracted from the earth. Without these raw materials, life in our modern western world would not work. In chemistry lessons, but also in studies and in various professional areas, the composition of these substances is queried again and again. The explanation is not that simple, basic knowledge in the chemistry must be present.

Explain the chemical composition of substances using the formula

You can use the formula to explain the chemical composition of a substance. This indicates exactly which chemical elements a substance is made up of and how high the number of each element is.

• To understand these formulas, you need to know which symbol is associated with each element. This will help you here Periodic table of the elements that you will find in every table and that can also be found on the Internet. Learn the
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  Symbols by heart in order to be able to decipher the chemical composition of a substance without tools.
• If you want to determine mixtures, you will be confronted with several chemical elements. Most of the time, it is stated in what proportion the individual element is present in the substance.

Petroleum and natural gas are made up of different elements

• Natural gas is a gas mixture that can be extracted from the lower layers of the earth. It consists mainly of CH₄ (Methane), the proportion can be detected up to a value of 99 percent. Furthermore, there can be shares of C₂H₆ (Ethane), C.₃H₈ (Propane), C.₄H₁₀ (Butane) and C₂H₄ (Ethene) included. Using the sum formulas of the individual gases, you can see that natural gas consists exclusively of carbon and hydrogen. The proportions of the individual gases are very different. Natural gas itself does not have its own chemical molecular formula.


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• Crude oil is also a mixture that is essentially composed of hydrocarbons. In addition, proteins, fats and carbohydrates are detected in the crude oil obtained. The chemical composition consists of C (carbon), H (hydrogen), O (oxygen), S (sulfur) and N (nitrogen). Petroleum does not have its own chemical formula either. However, you can see that it consists not only of hydrocarbons, but of various other elements. It is obtained in a liquid state.

Crude oil and natural gas can be changed for the respective purpose. For example, gasoline is only produced after the oil has been refined.