Talk:Hydrocarbon/Archives/2013

number of hydrogens
someone may want to correct the formula for the number of hydrogens in a cyclic compound - that formula only works for alkane cycle compounds - cyclic alkenes and cyclic alkynes have a slightly different formula. IIRC, theyre CnH2n-2 and CnH2n-4. I'm not that great with wiki coding (I always seem to break the page), so could someone update that? -Zionyx (not logged in)

hydrocarbon energy content
Whay are HCs the primamry choice for energy geenration? Ksenon 02:14, 9 November 2005 (UTC)

Answer: Hydrocarbon fuels are very efficient combustible fuels (ie. they burn easily with oxygen) and produce substantial quantities of energy (due to the relatively hgh enthalpy of a lot of these compounds). As well as this, unlike specifically carbon based fuels (such as charcoal) hydrocarbons can be obtained in gas and liquid states at room temperature and pressure, and this makes them easier to incorporate into modern internal combustion engines (imagine trying to get a car to run on coal!)

Further answer: Using hydrocarbons is a very cheap (cost per energy output) way to make useable energy. While alternatives are getting closer in terms of cost (because cost of hydrocarbons especially oil and natural gas is going up and the cost of alternatives are falling), they are just beginning to be economically competitive. Nuclear power has been very close economically but because of political hazards and setbacks after 3-mile-island and Chernobyl, the U.S. has veered away from this. Yet Europe, specifically the U.K, has developed a large nuclear infrastructure in their effort to wean themselves off of hydrocarbons. Caleb rosenberg 23:53, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

This is an excellent dialogue. But, how come none of this is reflected in the main article, at least as of today? The 'burning hydrocarbons' section instead goes on about burning coal, which is hardly a hydrocarbon. Can somebody knowledgeable edit this section please? Reddyuday (talk) 11:20, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

Hydrocarbons and tropospheric ozone
"In urban pollution, these components--along with NOx and sunlight--all contribute to the formation of tropospheric ozone." Although the exhaust from conventional internal combustion engines contributes to tropospheric ozone, I don't think it has anything to do with hydrocarbons. I may be mistaken. Can someone shed some light on this? - Yossarian4010

I dont think you're mistaken, I know next to nothing about chemistry, however ozone is O3 aint it? Hydrocarbons are made of H and C in various configurations.. Hydrocarbons dont contain O, hence cant even think of becoming ozone, unless alchemy is alive and well! --Kvuo 06:01, 13 November 2005 (UTC)


 * Yossarian and Kvuo are both mistaken. HC contribute to the formation of ozone, which doesn't imply that HC must contain oxygen.  See Tropospheric ozone for details, keeping in mind that some VOCs are HC. Spiffy sperry 06:06, 27 November 2005 (UTC)


 * very good.. thanx! --Kvuo 15:15, 29 November 2005 (UTC)

hydrocarbons, environment and usage
I am trying to expand on hydrocarbons and the environment topic eg. how they are formed, mined, moved, refined and used. With over 300 links at the Hydrocarbon: what links here page, I thought it was appropriate to draw attention to this important entry with less than 20 sentences. It would be good to see some images from the Commons put in to this article. Most of the current external links are about abiotic processes and might not be appropriate on this page. - Shiftchange 19:58, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

Wax in crude oil
How do you see wax in crude oil? What is charateristic of parafin wax, (Pour Point, Vapour)?

Add more Hydrocarbons
I'm not one to actually add stuff to articles, but might i suggest adding hydrocarbons beyond propane. Pentane (5 Carbon), Hexane, Heptane, Octane, Nonane, Decane (10 Carbon).

The "Cyclic" hydrocarbon also can be shows as "Cyclo". Ex. "Cyclohexane". Naming rules: 1,2 Methyl 4-cyclohexene

The 1 & 2 in the front show a chain of Methyl carbons, which are one carbon chains. The 4- shows that there's the double bond on the 4th carbon. cyclo indicates the hexagonal shape. Someone more knowledgable could add some of this in. I can only provide what I know and will not be able to explain it well.

-- Its not 4-hexene - the number in front refers to the lowest possible number, and in hexene, that would actually be 2-hexene. -Zionyx (not logged in)

Types of hydrocarbons
Should a fourth type of hydrocarbon be added? I don't know where alicyclic hydrocarbons would fit in the existing three types. youngvalter 05:55, 13 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Done! Silverchemist 19:00, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

Polar or Non-Polar
Is a hydrocarbon polar or non-polar? If it is polar, would it react if it is mixed with water, since water is also a polar molecule? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 572766 (talk) 22:41, 19 February 2007 (UTC). 572766 23:40, 19 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Hydrocarbons are non-polar; the electronegativity values between carbons are equal, which allows them to catenate due to the absence of "competition", as hydrogens have little effect. If you were to place some in water, you would notice that there is a heterogeneous mixture of the two, whereby the fuel/hydrocarbons in liquid state would remain unreacted generally because water is a polar solvent. For example, the Halogens dissolve somewhat sparingly in water, albeit slower or more incomplete than when in hexane, because they are similarly non-polar solvents. [[Image:Gaim.svg|27px]] ♥♥ ΜÏΠЄSΓRΘΠ€ ♥♥ slurp me! 11:45, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

Recent reversion
I recently reverted it because i'm concerned about the length of the introduction; it's indeed correct that Methane is naturally abundant, but i just want to prevent the introduction from becoming segmented as it was before. ♥♥ ΜÏΠЄSΓRΘΠ€ ♥♥ slurp me! 06:58, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

concatenation?
re: ... ``a hydrocarbon (a concatenation of the words "hydrogen" and "carbon")''..., if it were a concatenation, it would be "hydrogencarbon"; ie, the 'gen' would not be discarded.

in looking up Compound Words, it seems that they're typically either concatenations or simple adjacencies; i don't know what the correct linguistic term for a word who is formed via lossy synthesis, but whatever that word is, it seems that it should replace 'concatenation'. Jrrs 15:03, 3 June 2007 (UTC)
 * It's just a loose term; the term concatenation means "joining", but it's not unusual to see it used these days to explain buzzword-type chemistry; i guess it needs replacing for accuracy if nothing else. Actually, the term "hydrogencarbon" was the original term used, and then it was shortened to hydrocarbon. ♥♥ ΜÏΠЄSΓRΘΠ€ ♥♥ slurp me! 20:12, 3 June 2007 (UTC)


 * You might be looking for the terms contraction, or more precisely; portmanteau.


 * Ben 21:13, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

on hydrocarbons and carbohydrates
Obviously, both have carbon and hydrogen. What is the difference? Is one a sub-category of the other?


 * No. hydrocarbon = hydrogen + carbon = CxHy. carbohydrate = carbon hydrate = carbon + water = CxH2xOx --Cubbi 02:14, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

Petty vandalism
It looks like this page has been the target of quite a bit of random vandalism, primarily by 66.225.141.109, although there was some other stuff. I went fairly far back in the history to look at old edits and try to ID the bad edits, but perhaps somebody who truly cares about this article should check again. 76.199.8.243 20:15, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Methane as cleanest fuel
Under the Burning Hydrocarbons section, there is a comment which states: 'As methane only releases one carbon dioxide for two water molecules, it is considered the cleanest fuel.'

This is unreferenced, as well as unsubstantiated. Clean in what way? 2 moles of methane will release the same amount of CO2 as one mole of ethane, but you need to burn more methane in order to get the same heat output. The relevance of the CO2 to H2O ratio is also unclear. I recommend that this sentence be removed or reworked.

99.236.149.49 (talk) 05:37, 30 January 2008 (UTC) Mark louie baquit —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.53.160.225 (talk) 14:39, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

Abiotic Oil
Abiotic sources of oil are a highly convenient theory, but it is widely believed among scientists and petroleum engineers today that the origins of oil are overwhelmingly biotic. It is not a controversy, just a fringe theory that certain large multinational corporations have a vested interest in promoting. I will supply sources and drag in experts if you like, but I'm not really interested in getting into a flame war over the subject. This is already an overlong justification of a pretty minor edit. Tenebrous (talk) 02:13, 11 April 2008 (UTC)
 * The link should probably be removed, or else a section on hydrocarbon origins needs to be writen. NJGW (talk) 17:30, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

The Health Effects of Hydrocarbons...
... would be substantially beneficial to this article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Steventrouble (talk • contribs) 19:27, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

Burning of hydrocarbons -- Electrochemistry
When hydrocarbons burn, is the carbon ion or the hydrogen ion considered the reducing agent. The oxygen from the air is the oxidizing agent. --Cheminterest (talk) 22:24, 24 March 2010 (UTC)

Aliphatic vs Aromatic
Probably should mention that hydrocarbons are divided into aliphatic and aromatic. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.182.91.94 (talk) 12:09, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

hydrocarbons being transferred
Can Hydrocarbons be transferred from a motor vehicle to an object on the side of the road? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.37.168.61 (talk) 11:49, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

Program for Estimate of Hydrocarbons Properties
And then tell me whether or not it is useful. I'm sure many, if you will see useful, and that should go in this section. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.235.0.112 (talk) 19:35, 8 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Please do not post spam links on Wikipedia. As a result I have deleted your link. Wikipedia is not for promotional or advertising purposes. If you'd like to add you link it DOES NOT belong in the article text but in the External Links section.Please read WP:NOADS.Jasper Deng (talk) 20:27, 8 March 2011 (UTC)

Ok, how can i show my link was useful, if I can not write here, in the discussion forum?. And you said "your link is spam?", are you sure about it?. I think you are very rude. you set my link as spam, then i understand you are accepted other king of link. This conversation is unusefull. That page was 4 years, no change. that page content hydrocan formule ..., yes. I understood that page is a spam, and i spammer, ok, you win. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.235.32.76 (talk) 22:03, 11 March 2011 (UTC)

Petrol 'produced from air and water'
A British firm says it can produce petrol from air and water (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20003704). Is this a methodology interesting for this article? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Syneil (talk • contribs) 13:00, 19 October 2012 (UTC)