FLASH DISTILLATION

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After the oil has been transport up and out of the ground, the natural gas is separated from the liquid oil, into a gaseous component and a liquid component. This is done by flash distillation.

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In isothermal flash distillation, a mixture of the crude oil is brought in and the pressure in the tank is lowered. When the pressure is lowered, the crude oil separates into a gas and a liquid. The gas (natural gas) is what we are interested in, because natural gas contains ethane, which can be converted into polyethylene.

If you are interested in looking at the equations for flash distillation, click here: