7849. Propylene

Nomenclature

CAS number: 115-07-1
1-Propene; methylethylene; methylethene.
C3H6; mol wt 42.08.
C 85.63%, H 14.37%.

Description and references

Obtained from petr oils during the refining of gasoline. Catalytic or thermal cracking of hydrocarbons always yields propylene. Can be obtained by catalytic dehydrogenation of propane. Chronic toxicity studies: J. A. Quest et al., Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 76, 288 (1984). Reviews: R. F. Goldstein, The Petroleum Chemicals Industry (New York-London, 1949) p 114 sqq.; Sherwood, Ind. Chem. 1960, 542-546; Chim. Ind. (Paris) 1961, 576-587; Haney, “Ethylene, Propylene and 1-Butene” in Vinyl and Diene Monomers, E. C. Leonard, Ed. (Interscience, New York, 1971) pp 577-689; M. R. Schoenberg et al., in Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology vol. 19 (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 3rd ed., 1982) pp 228-246. Review of carcinogenic risk: IARC Monographs 60, 161-180 (1994).

Chemical structure

Properties

Gas. Flammable. Burns with yellow sooty flame. d 1.49 (air = 1.0). mp (triple pt) -185°. bp760 -48°. Critical temp 91.8°. Critical pressure 45.6 atm. Heat of fusion 717.6 cal/mol. Liquefies at 7-8 atm. d420 (liq) 0.5139. Flash pt, closed cup: -162.0°F (-108.0°C). Flammable limits in air: 2.4-10.3% (by volume). Latent heat of vaporization at bp: 104.62 cal/g. Dipole moment 0.35. nD-40 1.3567. Surface tension at 90°: 16.70 dynes/cm. Shipped as a liquefied gas in low pressure steel cylinders under its own vapor pressure of ≈136 pounds per square inch. Contaminants are propane, ethane, carbon dioxide.

Caution

Gas may act as a simple asphyxiant and mild anesthetic. Direct contact with liquid may cause skin burns. See Patty's Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology Vol. 2B, G. D. Clayton, F. E. Clayton, Eds. (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 4th ed., 1994) p 1244-1245.

Use

In polymerized form as polypropylene for plastics and carpet fibers. Chemical intermediate in the manuf of acetone, isopropylbenzene, isopropanol, isopropyl halides, propylene oxide, acrylonitrile, cumene.