ABSTRACT
Hydrocarbons are organic compounds containing only C and H atoms in the molecules. e broad class of organic compounds includes alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, cycloalkanes (naphthenes), and aromatics. Hydrocarbons occurring in nature are natural gases (mainly methane), crude oil (which is a complex mixture of alkanes, aromatics, and naphthenes of wide-ranging carbon numbers), and coals and coal tars, many of which consist of fused polyaromatic rings. Cracking or distillation of crude oil produces various petroleum fractions for their commercial applications. ese fractions, as shown below, are distinguished by their carbon numbers, boiling range, and commercial uses and they include gasoline, kerosene, jet fuel, diesel oil, lubricating oil, and wax.
