Cracking of hydrocarbons and boiling point of salt water

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SUMMARY

Alkenes can indeed be cracked, producing smaller alkenes and alkanes; for example, cracking butene yields propene and ethene. The boiling point of salt water is approximately 101.4 degrees Celsius, but during fractional or simple distillation, the thermometer may read 100 degrees due to the presence of immiscible liquids. The total vapor pressure of the mixture lowers the effective boiling point when combined with other liquids, such as hydrocarbons. This phenomenon occurs because the vapor pressures of the individual components contribute to the overall boiling point of the mixture.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of hydrocarbon cracking processes
  • Knowledge of distillation techniques, including fractional and simple distillation
  • Familiarity with vapor pressure concepts
  • Basic chemistry of alkenes and alkanes
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the mechanisms of hydrocarbon cracking in detail
  • Study the principles of vapor pressure and its effects on boiling points
  • Explore advanced distillation techniques for separating mixtures
  • Learn about the properties and reactions of alkenes and alkanes
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Chemistry students, chemical engineers, and professionals involved in petrochemical processes will benefit from this discussion, particularly those focused on hydrocarbon processing and separation techniques.

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Can alkenes be cracked or only alkanes can be cracked? Then what would the products be? Like for alkanes a alkenes must always be formed but what about for alkenes cracking?

Also, when we boil salt water its temperature is 101.4 degrees. But when performing fractional or simple distillation why dots the reading at the thermometer be 100 degrees even though the boiling point is 101.4?

Thanks for the help guys! :smile:
 
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Alkenes can be cracked as well. An example would be cracking butene to yield propene and ethene.

As for distillation, when you combine two immiscible liquids (such as water and alkanes/alkenes), the total vapor pressure of the mixture is the sum of the vapor pressures of the different liquids in the mixture. The result of this is that, as long as the mixture is being stirred, the boiling point of the mixture will be lower than the boiling points of any of the liquids if they were pure.
 
Jasoni22 said:
when you combine two immiscible liquids (such as water and alkanes/alkenes), the total vapor pressure of the mixture is the sum of the vapor pressures of the different liquids in the mixture. The result of this is that, as long as the mixture is being stirred, the boiling point of the mixture will be lower than the boiling points of any of the liquids if they were pure.

I don't see how it addresses the question, NaCl is not a liquid immiscible with water.
 
I was assuming that the distillation was of hydrocarbons mixed in water, since you wouldn't perform fractional distillation of mere salt water with nothing else in it.
 

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