Greetings,
This post features alkanes commonly used as fuels. Among the most common are methane, ethane, propane and butane.
Methane and ethane are the principle components of natural gas; methane being the primary component at about 90%. Propane and butane are heavier (higher molecular weights) and therefore more readily liquified under pressure. Propane is the primary heating fuel for rural areas across the country (USA). It also comes in portable LPG tanks (compressed to allow a full 20 pounds of fuel into the tank!) for use in outdoor cooking.
Another very common fuel is gasoline, which is, in fact, the main petroleum distillate produced from crude oil. By way of a complex process involving catalytic cracking and fractional distillation, vast quantities of gasoline are produced. Gasoline itself is a complex mixture of over 100 hydrocarbon compounds, of which alkanes account for 29-48% of the total. The remainder consists of alkenes and aromatic compounds (to be covered in a future post).
This discussion is summarized in the diagram below.
I think it is remarkable that the incredible variety of common fuels is composed of just two elements; carbon and hydrogen! It is a testament to the amazing bonding versatility of carbon itself.
As always, thank you for reading!
A Publication of http://ExcellenceInLearning.biz
This post features alkanes commonly used as fuels. Among the most common are methane, ethane, propane and butane.
Methane and ethane are the principle components of natural gas; methane being the primary component at about 90%. Propane and butane are heavier (higher molecular weights) and therefore more readily liquified under pressure. Propane is the primary heating fuel for rural areas across the country (USA). It also comes in portable LPG tanks (compressed to allow a full 20 pounds of fuel into the tank!) for use in outdoor cooking.
Another very common fuel is gasoline, which is, in fact, the main petroleum distillate produced from crude oil. By way of a complex process involving catalytic cracking and fractional distillation, vast quantities of gasoline are produced. Gasoline itself is a complex mixture of over 100 hydrocarbon compounds, of which alkanes account for 29-48% of the total. The remainder consists of alkenes and aromatic compounds (to be covered in a future post).
This discussion is summarized in the diagram below.
I think it is remarkable that the incredible variety of common fuels is composed of just two elements; carbon and hydrogen! It is a testament to the amazing bonding versatility of carbon itself.
As always, thank you for reading!
A Publication of http://ExcellenceInLearning.biz