Propane
| General | |
|---|---|
| Name | Propane |
Lewis Structure:
H H H | | | H-C-C-C-H | | | H H H |
|
| Chemical formula | CH3CH2CH3 or C3H8 |
| Formula weight | 44.10 g/mol |
| Synonyms | Dimethylmethane, LPG, Propyl Hydride |
| CAS number | 74-98-6 |
| UN number | 1978 |
| Phase behavior | |
| Melting point | 85.5 K (−187.6 °C) |
| Boiling point | 231.1 K (−42 °C) |
| Triple point | 85 K (−188 °C)
169 µPa; |
| Critical point | 369.9 K (96.9 °C)
4.25 MPa |
| ΔsubH; | 28.5 kJ/mol |
| ΔfusH; | 3.52 kJ/mol |
| ΔfusS; | J/(mol·K) |
| ΔvapH; | 19.4 kJ/mol |
| Solubility | 0.1 g/dm³ |
| Liquid properties | |
| ΔfH0liquid; | -120 kJ/mol |
| S0liquid | 171 J/(mol·K) |
| Cp | 98.3 J/(mol·K) |
| Density | 582 kg/m3 |
| Gas properties | |
| ΔfH0gas; | −105 kJ/mol |
| S0gas | 269.9 J/(mol·K) |
| Cp | 73.6 J/(mol·K) |
| Safety | |
| Ingestion | Nausea, vomiting, internal hemorrhage. |
| Inhalation | Rapid breathing & heart rate. Headaches, mood disturbance, conufsion and seisures may occur. Danger of cardiac arrest in severe cases. |
| Skin | (Frostbite on exposure to cryogenic liquid) |
| Flash point | −104 °C |
| Autoignition temperature | 450 °C |
| Explosive limits | 2.1–9.5% |
| More info | |
| Properties | NIST WebBook |
| MSDS | Hazardous Chemical Database |
|
SI units were used where possible. Unless otherwise stated, standard conditions were used. Disclaimer and references | |
| Table of contents |
|
2 History 3 See also |
Uses
When commonly sold as fuel it is also known as liquified petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas) and is a mixture of propane with smaller amounts of propylene, butane and butylene, plus ethanethiol as an odorant to allow the normally odorless propane to be smelled. It is used as fuel in cooking on many barbecues and portable stoves and in motor vehicles. Propane powers some buses, forklifts, and taxis and is used for heat and cooking in recreational vehicles and campers. In many rural areas of the US, propane is also used in furnaces, water heaters, laundry dryers, and other heat-producing appliances. Delivery trucks fill up large tanks that are permanently installed on the property (sometimes called pigs) or exchange bottles of propane.
Another use of propane is the application as propellant for aerosol sprays, especially after the ban of CFCs. It is also used as a feedstock for the production of base petrochemicals in steam cracking.
History
Propane was first identified by Dr. Walter O. Snelling of the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1910. Dr. Snelling established the first commercial propane vendor, American Gasol, in 1912.
See also
| Alkanes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
methane CH4 |
| |
ethane C2H6 |
| |
propane C3H8 |
| |
butane C4H10 |
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pentane C5H12 |
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hexane C6H14 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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heptane C7H16 |
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octane C8H18 |
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nonane C9H20 |
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decane C10H22 |
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undecane C11H24 |
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dodecane C12H26 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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tridecane C13H28 |
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tetradecane C14H30 |
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pentadecane C15H32 |
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hexadecane C16H34 |
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heptadecane C17H36 |
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octadecane C18H38 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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nonadecane C19H40 |
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icosane C20H42 |
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henicosane C21H44 |
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docosane C22H46 |
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tricosane C23H48 |
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tetracosane C24H50 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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pentacosane C25H52 |
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hexacosane C26H54 |
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heptacosane C27H56 |
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octacosane C28H58 |
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nonacosane C29H60 |
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triacontane C30H62 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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hentriacontane C31H64 |
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dotriacontane C32H66 |
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tritriacontane C33H68 |
| |
tetratriacontane C34H70 |
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pentatriacontane C35H72 |
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hexatriacontane C36H74 | |||||||||||||||||||||
