1-pentene

Cis-2-pentene

Trans-2-pentene

Pentene refers to all the alkenes with chemical formula C₅H₁₀ containing a single double bond within its molecular structure. 1-Pentene (pent-1-ene) and 2-pentene (pent-2-ene) differ by the location of the double bond at the first or second carbon-carbon bond. 1-Pentene is an alpha-olefin.

Most often 1-pentene is made as a byproduct of catalytic or thermal cracking of petroleum, or during production of ethylene and propylene via thermal cracking of hydrocarbon fractions.

1-Pentene is rarely isolated as a separate compound. Instead, it is most often blended into gasoline or, in a mixture with other hydrocarbons, alkylated with isobutane to make gasoline.

The only commercial manufacturer of 1-pentene, an alkene with a double bond on the end of the linear chain, is Sasol Ltd, a South African petrochemical company, where it is separated from crude made by the Fischer-Tropsch process.

2-Pentene has two geometrical isomers. Cis-2-Pentene is used in olefin metathesis.

Branched isomers are 2-methylbut-1-ene, 3-methylbut-1-ene (isopentene), and 2-methylbut-2-ene.

Alternative names for pentene molecules include amylene, isoamylene, n-amylene or n-pentene (1-pentene), and beta-n-amylene or sym-methylethylethylene (2-pentene)

Isoamylene is one of three main byproducts of deep catalytic cracking (DCC), a relatively new concept that is very similar to the operation of the FCC. The DCC uses vacuum gas oil (VGO) as a feedstock to produce primarily polypropylene, isobutylene, and isoamylene. The rise in demand for polypropylene has encouraged the growth of the DCCU, which is operated very much like an FCCU. Isobutylene and isoamylene are feedstocks necessary for the production of the much debated gasoline blending components MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether) and TAME (tertiary amyl butyl ether).

[edit] See also

• Alkene

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