Ethane

Names Preferred IUPAC nameSystematic IUPAC nameOther names Identifiers 1730716 ChEBIChEMBLChemSpiderECHA InfoCard100.000.741EC Number212 MeSHEthaneRTECS numberUNIIUN number1035 Properties C₂H₆Molar mass30.070 g·mol Appearance Colorless gas OdorOdorless DensityMelting point−182.8 °C; −296.9 °F; 90.4 K Boiling point−88.5 °C; −127.4 °F; 184.6 K Critical point (T, P) 305.32 K (32.17 °C; 89.91 °F) 48.714 bars (4,871.4 kPa) 56.8 mg/L Vapor pressure3.8453 MPa (at 21.1 °C) 19 nmol Pa kg Acidity (pK_a) 50 Basicity (pK_b) −36 Conjugate acidEthanium−37.37·10 cm/mol Thermochemistry 52.14± 0.39 J K mol at 298 Kelvin −84 kJ mol −1561.0–−1560.4 kJ mol 9.76 kJ/mol at −182 °C 14.703 kJ/mol at −89.0 °C Hazards GHS labelling: DangerH220P203, P210, P222, P280, P377, P381, P403NFPA 704 (fire diamond) Flash point−135 °C (−211 °F; 138 K) 472 °C (882 °F; 745 K) Explosive limits2.9–13% Safety data sheet (SDS) inchem.orgRelated compounds Supplementary data page Ethane (data page)

Ethane (US: , UK: ) is a naturally occurring organicchemical compound with the chemical formulaC
₂H
₆. At standard temperature and pressure, ethane is a colorless, odorless gas. Natural gas consists of 1–6% ethane by volume, second only to methane. Like many hydrocarbons, ethane is isolated on an industrial scale from natural gas and as a petrochemical by-product of petroleum refining. Its chief use is as feedstock for ethylene production. The ethane molecule adopts an staggered conformation, in which the methyl groups are rotated so that the hydrogen atoms are interleaved, and there is an energy barrier to twisting the methyl groups relative to each other. The ethyl group is formally, although rarely in practice, derived from ethane.