William Burton introduced which oil refining process in 1913?

William Burton introduced which oil refining process in 1913?

• A. Catalytic cracking
• B. Thermal cracking
• C. Hydrocracking
• D. Fractional distillation

Answer: (B)

The question tests knowledge of early oil refining methods used to increase gasoline production by breaking large hydrocarbon molecules into smaller ones. William Burton in 1913 introduced thermal cracking, a process that uses very high temperatures to crack heavy molecules into lighter fractions like gasoline. This approach relies on heat alone and does not require catalysts or hydrogen. Catalytic cracking, developed later, uses a solid catalyst to speed up cracking at lower temperatures. Hydrocracking combines hydrogen with a catalyst under pressure to produce lighter products and is even more modern. Fractional distillation is the basic separation technique that divides crude into fractions by boiling point; it does not crack molecules, so it doesn’t convert heavy components into lighter ones. So the process Burton introduced in 1913 is thermal cracking.

The question tests knowledge of early oil refining methods used to increase gasoline production by breaking large hydrocarbon molecules into smaller ones. William Burton in 1913 introduced thermal cracking, a process that uses very high temperatures to crack heavy molecules into lighter fractions like gasoline. This approach relies on heat alone and does not require catalysts or hydrogen.

Catalytic cracking, developed later, uses a solid catalyst to speed up cracking at lower temperatures. Hydrocracking combines hydrogen with a catalyst under pressure to produce lighter products and is even more modern. Fractional distillation is the basic separation technique that divides crude into fractions by boiling point; it does not crack molecules, so it doesn’t convert heavy components into lighter ones.

So the process Burton introduced in 1913 is thermal cracking.