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Butane is an organic compound with the chemical formula C
₄H
₁₀. It is an alkane with four carbon atoms. It is used as a fuel (sometimes with propane) and in aerosol cans.

Butane is usually sold as a mixture of its two isomers, n-butane and isobutane. In IUPAC's official chemical nomenclature, "butane" means n-butane.

Uses of Butane

Butane is sold in canisters, for cooking and camping. It is also used as fuel in cigarette lighters, and as propellant in aerosol sprays or deodorants. Some kinds of Butane are used in refrigerators.

Mixtures with Propane are known as LPG.

Dangers

Butane can be hazardous. Inhalation can lead to death by asphyxiation due to displacement of oxygen in the lungs. Contact with the skin can lead to frostbite. If the gas is mixed with air and ignited, it is prone to explode like many other fuels that are volatile.

References

1 2 "Front Matter". Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry : IUPAC Recommendations and Preferred Names 2013 (Blue Book). Cambridge: The Royal Society of Chemistry. 2014. p. 4. doi:10.1039/9781849733069-FP001. ISBN 978-0-85404-182-4. Similarly, the retained names 'ethane', 'propane', and 'butane' were never replaced by systematic names 'dicarbane', 'tricarbane', and 'tetracarbane' as recommended for analogues of silane, 'disilane'; phosphane, 'triphosphane'; and sulfane, 'tetrasulfane'.
1 2 3 4 5 NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards. "#0068". National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
↑ Hofmann, August Wilhelm Von (1 January 1867). "I. On the action of trichloride of phosphorus on the salts of the aromatic monamines". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. 15: 54–62. doi:10.1098/rspl.1866.0018. S2CID 98496840. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018 – via rspl.royalsocietypublishing.org.
↑ W. B. Kay (1940). "Pressure-Volume-Temperature Relations for n-Butane". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. 32 (3): 358–360. doi:10.1021/ie50363a016.
↑ "Safety Data Sheet, Material Name: N-Butane" (PDF). USA: Matheson Tri-Gas Incorporated. 5 February 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2011.

Other websites

International Chemical Safety Card 0232
NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards
n-Butane Archived 2008-09-25 at the Wayback Machine Molecule of the Month
Molview from bluerhinos.co.uk Archived 2008-05-08 at the Wayback Machine See Butane in 3D
Computational Chemistry Wiki Archived 2009-04-30 at the Wayback Machine
World LP Gas Association (WLPGA)
LP Gas Association: Propane and Butane in the UK Archived 2008-04-13 at the Wayback Machine
Global BioSciences Archived 2008-07-24 at the Wayback Machine In-Situ Bioremediation utilizing Butane
Butane Viscosity as function of Archived 2008-01-13 at the Wayback Machine temperature and pressure

[iupac2013-1] 1 2 "Front Matter". Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry : IUPAC Recommendations and Preferred Names 2013 (Blue Book). Cambridge: The Royal Society of Chemistry. 2014. p. 4. doi:10.1039/9781849733069-FP001. ISBN 978-0-85404-182-4. Similarly, the retained names 'ethane', 'propane', and 'butane' were never replaced by systematic names 'dicarbane', 'tricarbane', and 'tetracarbane' as recommended for analogues of silane, 'disilane'; phosphane, 'triphosphane'; and sulfane, 'tetrasulfane'.

[PGCH-2] 1 2 3 4 5 NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards. "#0068". National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

[3] Hofmann, August Wilhelm Von (1 January 1867). "I. On the action of trichloride of phosphorus on the salts of the aromatic monamines". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. 15: 54–62. doi:10.1098/rspl.1866.0018. S2CID 98496840. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018 – via rspl.royalsocietypublishing.org.

[4] W. B. Kay (1940). "Pressure-Volume-Temperature Relations for n-Butane". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. 32 (3): 358–360. doi:10.1021/ie50363a016.

[5] "Safety Data Sheet, Material Name: N-Butane" (PDF). USA: Matheson Tri-Gas Incorporated. 5 February 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2011.