In
chemistry, a
hydrocarbon is any
chemical compounds that consists only of
carbon (C) and
hydrogen (H). They all consist of a carbon backbone and atoms of hydrogen attached to that backbone. (Often the term is used as a shortened form of the term
aliphatic hydrocarbon.)
For example, methane (
swamp gas/marsh gas) is a hydrocarbon with one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms: CH
4.
Ethane is a hydrocarbon (more specifically, an alkane) consisting of two carbon atoms held together with a single bond, each with three hydrogen atoms bonded: C
2H
6.
Propane has three C atoms (C
3H
8) and so on (C
nH
2·n+2).
There are essentially three types of hydrocarbons:
#
aromatic hydrocarbons, which have at least one aromatic ring
#saturated hydrocarbons, also known as
alkanes, which don't have double, triple or aromatic bonds
#
unsaturated hydrocarbons, which have one or more double or triple bonds between carbon atoms, are divided into:
#
#
#
The number of hydrogen atoms in hydrocarbons can be determined, if the number of carbon atoms is known, by using these following equations:
- Alkanes: CnH2n+2
- Alkenes: CnH2n (assuming only one double bond)
- Alkynes: CnH2n-2 (assuming only one triple bond)
Each of these hydrocarbons must follow the 4-hydrogen rule which states that all carbon atoms must have the maximum number of hydrogen atoms as it can hold (the limit is four). Note, an extra bond removes 2 hydrogen atoms and only saturated hydrocarbons can attain the full four. This is because of the unique positions of the carbon's four electrons.
Liquid geologically-extracted hydrocarbons are referred to as
petroleum (literally "rock oil") or
mineral oil, while gaseous geologic hydrocarbons are referred to as
natural gas. All are significant sources of
fuel and raw materials as a
feedstock for the production of
organic chemicals and are commonly found in the subsurface using the tools of
petroleum geology.
Hydrocarbons are of prime economic importance because they encompass the constituents of the major
fossil fuels (
coal,
petroleum,
natural gas, etc.) and
biofuels, as well as
plastics,
waxes,
solvents and
oils. In urban
pollution, these components--along with NOx and sunlight--all contribute to the formation of
tropospheric ozone.
Category:Organic chemistry
ca:Hidrocarbur
da:Kulbrinte
de:Kohlenwasserstoffe
es:Hidrocarburo
fr:Hydrocarbure
id:Hidrokarbon
it:Idrocarburi
he:פחמימן
ms:Hidrokarbon
nl:Koolwaterstof
ja:炭化水素
pl:Węglowodór
pt:Hidrocarboneto
ru:Углеводороды
fi:Hiilivety
su:hidrokarbon
sv:Kolväte
vi:Hyđrocacbon
zh:烃
External links
Category:Hydrides
Category:Carbon compounds
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