Ethane is an organic chemical compound with chemical formula H At standard temperature and pressure, ethane is a colorless, odorless gas.
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12 Facts About Ethane
1.
2.
Ethane was first synthesised in 1834 by Michael Faraday, applying electrolysis of a potassium acetate solution.
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3.
Ethane mistook the hydrocarbon product of this reaction for methane and did not investigate it further.
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4.
Ethane was discovered dissolved in Pennsylvanian light crude oil by Edmund Ronalds in 1864.
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5.
Ethane occurs as a trace gas in the Earth's atmosphere, currently having a concentration at sea level of 0.
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6.
Ethane can be viewed as two methyl groups joined, that is, a dimer of methyl groups.
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7.
Ethane can react with the halogens, especially chlorine and bromine, by free-radical halogenation.
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8.
Ethane gives a classic, simple example of such a rotational barrier, sometimes called the "ethane barrier".
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9.
Ethane can be separated from petroleum gas, a mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons produced as a byproduct of petroleum refining.
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10.
Ethane is most efficiently separated from methane by liquefying it at cryogenic temperatures.
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11.
Ethane is favored for ethylene production because the steam cracking of ethane is fairly selective for ethylene, while the steam cracking of heavier hydrocarbons yields a product mixture poorer in ethylene and richer in heavier alkenes, such as propene and butadiene, and in aromatic hydrocarbons.
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12.
Ethane can be used as a refrigerant in cryogenic refrigeration systems.
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