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.)
Risks
Contact can cause frostbite and irritation to membranes. Inhalation is toxic. Suspected human carcinogen. Highly flammable and explosive. Flash point = -85 C
Airgas: SDS
Physical and Chemical 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 |
Resources and Citations
- The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 1534
- Wikipedia: 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