Butadiene

Description

A colorless, flammable gas obtained from Petroleum, Acetylene or from ethanol. Butadiene polymerizes readily in the presence of Oxygen to form a rubbery polymer. It was first polymerized in Russia by Sergei Lebedev in 1910. By the 1930s, many countries developed butadiene production capabilities as a replacement for natural rubber. Currently, butadiene is primarily used as a starting material for synthetic elastomers.

See Buna, ABS resin, Neoprene, and Polybutadiene.

Synonyms and Related Terms

1,3-butadiene; bivinyl; divinyl B; erythrene; vinyl ethylene; biethylene; pyrrollylene; methylallene; Butadien (Deut.); butadieen (Ned.)

Other Properties

Soluble in alcohols, ether, petroleum solvents, carbon tetrachloride. Insoluble in water.

Composition	H2C:CHHC:CH2
CAS	106-99-0
Melting Point	-108.9
Density	0.64 (liquid)
Molecular Weight	mol. wt. = 54.1
Boiling Point	-4.41

Hazards and Safety

Contact can cause frostbite and irritation to membranes. Inhalation is toxic. Suspected human carcinogen. Highly flammable and explosive. Flash point = -85 C

LINK: International Chemical Safety Card

Sources Checked for Data in Record

• The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 1534

• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, at http://www.wikipedia.com Comment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butadiene (Accessed Mar. 20, 2006)

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 126

• Theodore J. Reinhart, 'Glossary of Terms', Engineered Plastics, ASM International, 1988

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998