Page 53 - Encyclopedia of Chemical Compounds 3 Vols

1,3 BUTADIENE

1,3 Butadiene. White atoms are
hydrogen and black atoms are
carbon. Gray sticks indicate
double bonds. PU BL I S HERS
RESOURCE GRO U P

time, manufacturers began to worry about losing their sup-
ply of natural rubber from traditional suppliers in Java,
Malaysia, Sumatra, and other parts of Asia. As a result,
chemists in Europe and the United States began to look for
synthetic substitutes for natural rubber. Lebedev’s discovery
provided one solution to this problem, and butadiene-based
synthetic rubber products were soon flowing from manufac-
turing plants.

HOW IT IS MADE
Butadiene is made by three processes in the United
States. The first two of those processes begin with four-
carbon compounds called butane (CH 3 CH 2 CH 2 CH 3 ) and
butene (CH 2 =CHCH 2 CH 3 and CH 3 CH=CHCH 3 ). These com-
pounds are treated in one of two ways so as to add one more
double bond to the molecules, resulting in the formation of
1,3-butadiene (CH 2 =CHCH=CH 2 ). The third and most common
process is known as steam cracking. Steam cracking is a
process by which large petroleum molecules are exposed to
very hot steam, causing them to break apart into smaller
molecules. Steam cracking is the method by which ethylene,
the most important organic chemical produced in the United
States, is made. 1,3-butadiene is a by-product of this process,
and is separated from the major product, ethylene, after
cracking is complete.

2 CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS