The longest hydrocarbons have very high boiling points. They leave the column as a hot liquid called bitumen. Shorter hydrocarbon molecules have weaker intermolecular forces and lower boiling points.

Distillation columns are extensively deployed in the chemical process ... Examples are the separation of crude oil into components, such as gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel; the separation of raw ...

Crude oil comes into a refinery and goes into what is called a crude distillation unit. “There, there is the distillation column and products come out from the column at various levels.

Crude oil is a mixture of many different carbon compounds. Crude oil can be separated into useful fractions by fractional distillation. The image shows a column used to separate crude oil.