Higher alkanes are Alkane with a high number of carbon atoms. It is common jargon. One definition says higher alkanes are alkanes having nine or more carbon atoms. Thus, according to this definition, nonane is the lightest higher alkane. As pure substances, higher alkanes are rarely significant, but they are major components of useful lubricants and fuels.
Fatty acid esters and fatty acid nitriles react with long chain to give, after suitable workup, long-chain ketones. The Wolff-Kishner Reaction provides a way to remove the ketone functionality, giving long-chain hydrocarbons.
Even-numbered, long-chain hydrocarbons can also be synthesized through electrolysis and the of alkyl bromides.
Regarding synthetic sources, the Fischer-Tropsch process (or FT process) produces a mixture of hydrocarbons by the hydrogenation of carbon monoxide. The products obtained are liquid hydrocarbons and waxy solids, mostly n-paraffins. The liquid fraction ranges from C6 to C20, while the solid fraction consists of hydrocarbons above C21.
Alkanes from hexadecane upwards form the most important components of fuel oil and lubricant. In latter function they work at the same time as anti-corrosive agents, as their hydrophobic nature means that water cannot reach the metal surface. Many solid alkanes find use as paraffin wax, used for lubrication, electrical insulation, and . Paraffin wax should not be confused with beeswax, which consists primarily of .
Alkanes with a chain length of approximately 30 or more carbon atoms are found in bitumen (asphalt), used (for example) in road surfacing. However, the higher alkanes have little value and are usually split into lower alkanes by cracking.
The properties listed here refer to the straight-chain alkanes (or: n-alkanes).
Chemical formula | C9H20 | C10H22 | C11H24 | C12H26 | C13H28 | C14H30 | C15H32 | C16H34 |
CAS number | 111-84-2 | 124-18-5 | 1120-21-4 | 112-40-3 | 629-50-5 | 629-59-4 | 629-62-9 | 544-76-3 |
Molar mass (g/mol) | 128.26 | 142.29 | 156.31 | 170.34 | 184.37 | 198.39 | 212.42 | 226.45 |
Melting point (°C) | −53.5 | −29.7 | −25.6 | −9.6 | −5.4 | 5.9 | 9.9 | 18.2 |
Boiling point (°C) | 150.8 | 174.1 | 195.9 | 216.3 | 235.4 | 253.5 | 270.6 | 286.8 |
Density (g/ml at ) | 0.71763 | 0.73005 | 0.74024 | 0.74869 | 0.75622 | 0.76275 | 0.76830 | 0.77344 |
Viscosity (cP at ) | 0.7139 | 0.9256 | 1.185 | 1.503 | 1.880 | 2.335 | 2.863 | 3.474 |
Flash point (°C) | 31 | 46 | 60 | 71 | 79 | 99 | 132 | 135 |
Autoignition temperature (°C) | 205 | 210 | 205 | 235 | 201 | |||
0.9–2.9% | 0.8–2.6% | 0.45–6.5% | ||||||
Chemical formula | C17H36 | C18H38 | C19H40 | C20H42 | C21H44 | C22H46 | C23H48 | C24H50 |
CAS number | 629-78-7 | 593-45-3 | 629-92-5 | 112-95-8 | 629-94-7 | 629-97-0 | 638-67-5 | 646-31-1 |
Molar mass (g/mol) | 240.47 | 254.50 | 268.53 | 282.55 | 296.58 | 310.61 | 324.63 | 338.66 |
Melting point (°C) | 21 | 28–30 | 32–34 | 36.7 | 40.5 | 42 | 48–50 | 52 |
Boiling point (°C) | 302 | 317 | 330 | 342.7 | 356.5 | 224 at 2 kPaa | 380 | 391.3 |
Density (g/ml) | 0.777 | 0.777 | 0.786 | 0.7886 | 0.792 | 0.778 | 0.797 | 0.797 |
Flash point (°C) | 148 | 166 | 168 | 176 |
Chemical formula | C25H52 | C26H54 | C27H56 | C28H58 | C29H60 | C30H62 |
CAS number | 629-99-2 | 630-01-3 | 593-49-7 | 630-02-4 | 630-03-5 | 638-68-6 |
Molar mass (g/mol) | 352.69 | 366.71 | 380.74 | 394.77 | 408.80 | 422.82 |
Melting point (°C) | 54 | 56.4 | 59.5 | 64.5 | 63.7 | 65.8 |
Boiling point (°C) | 401 | 412.2 | 422 | 431.6 | 440.8 | 449.7 |
Density (g/ml) | 0.801 | 0.778 | 0.780 | 0.807 | 0.808 | 0.810 |
Chemical formula | C31H64 | C32H66 | C33H68 | C34H70 | C35H72 | C36H74 |
CAS number | 630-04-6 | 544-85-4 | 630-05-7 | 14167-59-0 | 630-07-9 | 630-06-8 |
Molar mass (g/mol) | 436.85 | 450.88 | 464.90 | 478.93 | 492.96 | 506.98 |
Melting point (°C) | 67.9 | 69 | 70–72 | 72.6 | 75 | 74–76 |
Boiling point (°C) | 458 | 467 | 474 | 285.4 at 0.4 kPa | 490 | 265 at 130 Pa |
Density (g/ml) | 0.781 at 68 °C | 0.812 | 0.811 | 0.812 | 0.813 | 0.814 |
Chemical formula | C37H76 | C38H78 | C39H80 | C40H82 | C41H84 | C42H86 |
CAS number | 7194-84-5 | 7194-85-6 | 7194-86-7 | 4181-95-7 | 7194-87-8 | 7098-20-6 |
Molar mass (g/mol) | 520.99 | 535.03 | 549.05 | 563.08 | 577.11 | 591.13 |
Melting point (°C) | 77 | 79 | 78 | 84 | 83 | 86 |
Boiling point (°C) | 504.14 | 510.93 | 517.51 | 523.88 | 530.75 | 536.07 |
Density (g/ml) | 0.815 | 0.816 | 0.817 | 0.817 | 0.818 | 0.819 |
Chemical formula | C43H88 | C44H90 | C45H92 | C46H94 | C47H96 | C48H98 |
CAS number | 7098-21-7 | 7098-22-8 | 7098-23-9 | 7098-24-0 | 7098-25-1 | 7098-26-2 |
Molar mass (g/mol) | 605.15 | 619.18 | 633.21 | 647.23 | 661.26 | 675.29 |
Boiling point (°C) | 541.91 | 547.57 | 553.1 | 558.42 | 563.6 | 568.68 |
Density (g/ml) | 0.82 | 0.82 | 0.821 | 0.822 | 0.822 | 0.823 |
Chemical formula | C49H100 | C50H102 | C51H104 | C52H106 | C53H108 | C54H110 |
CAS number | 7098-27-3 | 6596-40-3 | 7667-76-7 | 7719-79-1 | 7719-80-4 | 5856-66-6 |
Molar mass (g/mol) | 689.32 | 703.34 | 717.37 | 731.39 | 745.42 | 759.45 |
Boiling point (°C) | 573.6 | 578.4 | 583 | 587.6 | 592 | 596.38 |
Density (g/ml) | 0.823 | 0.824 | 0.824 | 0.825 | 0.825 | 0.826 |
Chemical formula | C55H112 | C56H114 | C57H116 | C58H118 | C59H120 | C60H122 |
CAS number | 5846-40-2 | 7719-82-6 | 5856-67-7 | 7667-78-9 | 7667-79-0 | 7667-80-3 |
Molar mass (g/mol) | 773.48 | 787.50 | 801.53 | 815.58 | 829.59 | 843.6 |
Boiling point (°C) | 600.6 | 604.7 | ? | 612.6 | ? | 620.2 |
Density (g/ml) | 0.826 | 0.826 | ? | 0.827 | ? | 0.827 |
|
|