The components of crude oil can be separated by ______.

Fractional distillation is the separation of a mixture into its parts or fractions. Chemical compounds are separated by heating them to a temperature at which one or more fractions of the mixture will vaporize. It uses distillation to fractionate.

By fractional distillation methods, various components of crude oil like petrol, naphtha, diesel, etc. will be separated at different temperatures in a fractionating column.