What are hydrocarbons ?

The term ‘hydrocarbon’ is self –explanatory which refers to the compounds formed by combination of carbon and hydrogen only. Hydrocarbons have very important role in our daily life. TheVegetable oilwhich is part of our food and also thegasolinewhich we use to run our vehicles is hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are the source of energy. Theoil,ghee& butter are the hydrocarbon which are part of our diet and provide our body with energy required to perform various physical and biological functions.

LPG, CNG, LNG , Petrol, Diesel and Kerosene oil are the hydrocarbons which are used as fuels for automobiles and domestic uses. LPG is the abbreviated form of liquified petroleum gas, LNG is the abbreviated form of liquified natural gas whereas CNG stands for compressed natural gas. Petrol, diesel and kerosene oil are obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum found under the earth’s crust while coal gas is obtained by the destructive distillation of coal.

Hydrocarbons are also used for manufacture of polymers like polythene, polypropene, polystyrene etc and also as solvents for paints. They are also used as the starting materials for manufacture of many dyes and drugs.