butane

butane
/byooh"tayn, byooh tayn"/, n. Chem.
a colorless, flammable gas, C4H10, a saturated aliphatic existing in two isometric forms: used chiefly in the manufacture of rubber and as fuel.
[1870-75; BUT(YL) + -ANE]

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      either of two colourless, odourless, gaseous hydrocarbons (compounds of carbon and hydrogen), members of the series of paraffinic hydrocarbons. Their chemical formula is C4H10. The compound in which the carbon atoms are linked in a straight chain is denoted normal butane, or n-butane; the branched-chain form is isobutane. Both compounds occur in natural gas and in crude oil and are formed in large quantities in the refining of petroleum to produce gasoline.

      The butanes present in natural gas can be separated from the large quantities of lower-boiling gaseous constituents, such as methane and ethane, by absorption in a light oil. The butanes thus obtained can be stripped from the absorbent along with propane and marketed as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), or they can be separated from the propane and then from each other by fractional distillation: n-butane boils at -0.5° C (31.1° F); isobutane boils at -11.7° C (10.9° F). Butanes formed by catalytic cracking and other refinery processes are also recovered by absorption into a light oil.

      Commercially, n-butane can be added to gasoline to increase its volatility. Transformed to isobutane in a refinery process known as isomerization, it can be reacted with certain other hydrocarbons such as butylene to form valuable high-octane constituents of gasoline.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Butane — Butane …   Wikipédia en Français

  • butane — [ bytan ] n. m. • 1874; du rad. de but(ylique) et suff. chim. ane ♦ Cour. Hydrocarbure saturé, gazeux et liquéfiable, employé comme combustible (C4H10). Le butane et le propane. Une bouteille de butane. Une cuisinière au butane. Appos. Gaz butane …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Butane — (Butylwasserstoffe), gasförmige Kohlenwasserstoffe der Grenzreihe von der Zusammensetzung C4H10. Normales Butan von der Formel CH3–CH2–CH2–CH3 ist ein farbloses, bei +1° zu einer Flüssigkeit kondensierbares, im amerikanischen… …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

  • Butane —   [Kurzwort], Singular Butan das, s, zu den Alkanen zählende Kohlenwasserstoffe mit der Summenformel C4H10, die in den zwei Strukturisomeren n Butan und Isobutan auftreten. Butane kommen in Erdgas, Erdöl und Erdölverarbeitungsprodukten… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • butane — [byo͞o′tān΄, byo͞o tān′] n. [ BUT(YL) + ANE] either of two alkanes (normal butane and isobutane) having the same formula, C4H10, but different structures and used esp. as a fuel …   English World dictionary

  • Butane — Bu tane (b[=u] t[=a]n), n. [L. butyrum butter. See {Butter}.] (Chem.) An inflammable gaseous saturated hydrocarbon, {C4H10}, of the marsh gas, or paraffin, series. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Butane — C4H10, Kohlenwasserstoffe der Äthanreihe. Normales Butan (Primäres Butan, Diäthyl) CH3.CH2.CH2.CH3 findet sich im amerikanischen Erdöl, in den Destillationsprodukten der Kannelkohle und entsteht aus Jodäthyl und Zink bei 150°. Sekundäres Butan… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • butane — paraffin hydrocarbon, 1875, from but(yl), hydrocarbon from butyric acid, a product of fermentation found in rancid butter, from L. butyrum (see BUTTER (Cf. butter)) + chemical suffix ane …   Etymology dictionary

  • butane — ► NOUN ▪ a flammable hydrocarbon gas present in petroleum and natural gas and used as a fuel. ORIGIN ultimately from Latin butyrum butter …   English terms dictionary

  • Butane — n Butane …   Wikipedia

  • Butane — Eigenschaften der Butane Name n Butan[1] Isobutan[2] Strukturformel …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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