| Abstract from DBPedia | In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or exemplified by the odors of gasoline and lighter fluid. They occur in a diverse range of molecular structures and phases: they can be gases (such as methane and propane), liquids (such as hexane and benzene), low melting solids (such as paraffin wax and naphthalene) or polymers (such as polyethylene and polystyrene). In the fossil fuel industries, hydrocarbon refers to the naturally occurring petroleum, natural gas and coal, and to their hydrocarbon derivatives and purified forms. Combustion of hydrocarbons is the main source of the world's energy. Petroleum is the dominant raw-material source for organic commodity chemicals such as solvents and polymers. Most anthropogenic (human-generated) emissions of greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels, and methane released from natural gas handling and from agriculture.炭化水素（たんかすいそ、（英: hydrocarbon）は、炭素原子と水素原子だけでできた化合物の総称である。その分子構造により鎖式炭化水素と環式炭化水素に大別され、更に脂肪族炭化水素、、芳香族炭化水素などと細分化される。また、炭素原子が全て単結合している場合は飽和炭化水素、多重結合を含む場合は不飽和炭化水素と分類することもできる。炭化水素で最も構造の簡単なものはメタンである。 また、石油や天然ガスの主成分は炭化水素やその混合物であり、石油化学工業の原料として今日の社会基盤を支える資源として欠かせない物質である。 (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Hydrocarbon) |
