kanes & Cycloalkane

pplication & Use

What are Alkanes?

Inorganic
chemistry,
analkane,
orparaffin(a historical name that also
hasother
meanings),
is
asaturated
hydrocarbon.
Alkanes
consist
only
ofhydrogenandcarbonatoms
and
all
bonds
aresingle
bonds.Alkanes
(technically, alwaysacyclicor
Alkanes are open-chain
not very
compounds) have
the general
reactive
and chemical
have
formulaCnH2n+2. For
example, methane
is
littlebiological
activity.
CH4, in which n=1
the numberare
of
All(n being
alkanes
and
carbon atoms). colourless
odourless. Alkanes can
be viewed as a molecular
Figure 1. The chemical structure of
tree
uponalkane
which can be
Methane:
the simplest

What are Cycloalkanes?

So-called cyclic alkanes are, in the technical
sense, not alkanes, but cycloalkanes. They
are hydrocarbons just like alkanes, but
contain one or more rings.
Simple cycloalkanes have a prefix "cyclo-" to
distinguish them from alkanes. Cycloalkanes
are named as per their acyclic counterparts
with respect to the number of carbon atoms,
e.g.,cyclopentane(C 5H10) is a cycloalkane
with 5 carbon atoms just likepentane(C 5H12),
but they are joined up in a five-membered
ring. In a similar manner,propane
Figure 2. Cyclopentane
andcyclopropane,butaneandcyclobutane,
etc.

APPLICATIONS & USES

The applications of a certain alkane can be
determined quite well according to the number of
carbon atoms. The first four alkanes are used
mainly for heating and cooking purposes, and in
some countries for electricity
generation.Methaneandethaneare the main
components of natural gas; they are normally
stored as gases under pressure. It is, however,
easier to transport them as liquids: This requires
both compression and cooling of the gas.
Propaneandbutanecan be liquefied at fairly low
pressures, and are well known asLiquefied
Petroleum Gas(LPG). Propane, for example, is
used in the propane gas burner and as a fuel for
cars,butane in disposable cigarette lighters. The
two
alkanes
are used
as4.propellants inAerosol
Figure
3.
Figure
Figure 5. Butane
Sprays.
Aerosol Paint
Liquefied
Fuel

APPLICATIONS & USES

From pentanetooctanethe alkanes are
reasonably volatile liquids. They are used as
fuels ininternal combustion engines, as they
vaporise easily on entry into the combustion
chamber without forming droplets, which would
impair the uniformity of the combustion.
Branched-chain alkanes are preferred as they are
much less prone to premature ignition than their
straight-chain homologues. This propensity to
premature ignition is measured by theoctane
ratingof the fuel, where2,2,4trimethylpentane(isooctane) has an arbitrary
value of 100, andheptanehas a value of zero.
Apart from their use as fuels, the middle alkanes
are also goodsolvents for nonpolar substances.
Figure 6. The Stick-Ball Model of
Octane

APPLICATIONS & USES

Alkanes fromnonaneto, for instance,hexadecane(an
alkane with sixteen carbon atoms) are liquids of
higherviscosity, less and less suitable for use in
gasoline. They form instead the major part
ofdieselandaviation fuel. Diesel fuels are
characterized by theircetane number, cetane being
an old name for hexadecane. However, the higher
melting points of these alkanes can cause problems at
low temperatures and in polar regions, where the fuel
becomes too thick to flow correctly.
Alkanes from hexadecane upwards form the most
important components offuel oilandlubricating oil.
In the latter function, they work at the same time as
anti-corrosive agents, as their hydrophobic nature
means that water cannot reach the metal surface.
Many solid alkanes find use asparaffin wax, for
example, incandles. This should not be confused
Figure 7. Paraffin
Figure 8. Diesel
however
with
truewax,
which
consists
primarily
Wax
Fuel

Louise Astrid P. Balatbat

9-Einstein