Propane, with the chemical formula C3H8, is mainly used in organic synthesis and can serve as a raw material for the production of ethylene and propylene or as a solvent in the oil refining industry. A mixture of propane, butane and a small amount of ethane can be liquefied and used as a domestic fuel, namely liquefied petroleum gas. Propane is more reactive than methane and ethane and can be used as a variety of chemical raw materials. In addition to being used as fuel, propane has the following uses:
The main use of propane is to be combined with butane to produce liquefied petroleum gas, which is mainly used as fuel.
Propane is an important raw material for cracking to produce ethylene.
The technology of catalytic dehydrogenation of propane to produce propylene has been industrialized.
④ Mixed nitro compounds are produced by gas-phase nitrification of propane: 1-nitropropane and 2-nitropropane, nitroethane and nitromethane. Nitropropane is a good solvent for vinyl and epoxy resins. Nitromethane is used as a fuel additive for racing cars.
Propane can be oxidized to produce propylene oxide, with by-products such as methanol, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acetic acid. However, the separation is very troublesome and has not been widely promoted.
It is widely used as a refrigerant in oil refining, chemical engineering and natural gas processing operations.
⑦ It is used as a solvent for deasphalting lubricating oil fractions. Asphalt is insoluble in liquid propane. When propane is used for extraction, asphalt is removed as the extraction residue, and then propane is evaporated from the fraction from which asphalt is removed, leaving the lubricating oil.
⑧ Dewaxing solvent: Almost insoluble in liquefied propane. When liquid propane evaporates, approximately 418,680 kJ/kg of heat of evaporation can be obtained. By taking advantage of these two characteristics, a portion of the propane is evaporated by the lubricating oil propane solution. The low temperature generated precipitates the wax in the raw oil, and the wax is dewaxed by self-cooling.
Chlorination of propane can yield perchloroethylene and carbon tetrachloride.
A new method for producing acrylonitrile from propane has been developed.
