Propene

Chembox new
ImageFileL1 = Propylene skeletal.svg
ImageSizeL1 = 100px
ImageNameL1 = Skeletal formula of propene
ImageFileR1 = Propylene.png ImageSizeR1 = 120px
ImageNameR1 = Propylene
IUPACName = Propene
Section1 = Chembox Identifiers
SMILES = C=CC
CASNo = 115-07-1
UNNumber = 1077 "In Liquefied petroleum gas: "1075
RTECS = UC6740000
Section2 = Chembox Properties
Formula = C₃H₆
MolarMass = 42.08 g/mol
Appearance = colorless gas
Solubility = 0.61 g/m³ (? °C)
MeltingPt = − 185.2 °C (88.0 K)
BoilingPt = − 47.6 °C (225.5 K)
Viscosity = 8.34 µPa·s at 16.7 °C
Section3 = Chembox Structure
Dipole = 0.366 D (gas)
Section7 = Chembox Hazards
ExternalMSDS = External MSDS
MainHazards = Highly flammable,
Asphyxiant
NFPA-H = 1
NFPA-F = 4
NFPA-R = 1
FlashPt = −108 °C
RPhrases = 12
SPhrases = 9-16-33
Section8 = Chembox Related
Function = alkenes
OtherFunctn = Ethylene
Isomers of Butylene
OtherCpds = Propane, Propyne
Allene, 1-Propanol
2-Propanol
Function = groups
OtherFunctn = Allyl, Propenyl

Propene, also known as propylene, is an unsaturated organic compound having the chemical formula C₃H₆. It has one double bond, and is the second simplest member of the alkene class of hydrocarbons, and it is also second in natural abundance.

Properties

At room temperature, propene is a colourless, odourless gas, though when used as a fuel, it is mixed with minute quantities of foul-smelling sulfurous compounds (mercaptans) so that gas leaks can be readily detected.

Propene has a higher density and boiling point than ethylene due its greater size. It has a slightly lower boiling point than propane and is thus more volatile. It lacks strongly polar bonds, yet the molecule has a small dipole moment due to its reduced symmetry (its point group is C_s).

Propene has the same formula as cyclopropane but a different connectivity of atoms, making these molecules structural isomers.

ynthesis

All propene is obtained from non-renewable sources; petroleum or natural gas deposits (and coal to a lesser extent). It is a fossil fuel. Propene is extracted from these by fractional distillation during oil refining, but demand exceeds supply so most is manufactured by cracking. The products from this process contain a mixture of products and the propene is separated from the other products by fractional distillation.

Production and Uses

Propene is the raw material for the production of polypropylene, a versatile polymer widely used in several different grades for packaging. Most propene is polymerized using Ziegler-Natta catalysis, which produces isotactic polypropylene. Along with benzene, propene is a key feedstock in the cumene process, a reaction carried out on industrial scales to produce acetone and phenol. Propene is also used during the production of many other chemical products such as isopropanol (propan-2-ol), acrylonitrile, and propylene oxide (epoxypropane). [Citation | contribution = 8034. Propylene | year = 1996 | title = The Merck Index, Twelfth Edition | editor-last = Budavari | editor-first = Susan | volume = | pages = 1348-1349 | place = New Jersey | publisher = Merck & Co. | id = ]

The production of propene has remained static at around 35 million tonnes (Europe and North America only) from 2000 – 2008 but has been increasing in East Asia, most notably Singapore and China. [www. petrochemistry.net Accessed August 2008] [Organic Chemistry 6th edition, McMurry,J., Brooks/Cole Publishing, Pacific Grove USA (2005)] Total world production of propene is currently about half that of ethylene.

References