What is the difference between diethyl ether and petroleum ether

Its specific gravity is 0. This compound is also known as benzine or ligroin. Petroleum ether is mainly important in the laboratory as a solvent. Ether is an organic molecule containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms while petroleum ether is a mixture of hydrocarbons. Therefore, the key difference between ether and petroleum ether is that ether is an organic compound with a —O- ether linkage, while petroleum ether is a mixture of hydrocarbon compounds.

Moreover, ether molecules essentially contain ether linkage, whereas petroleum ether does not contain such linkages at all. Furthermore, there is a difference between ether and petroleum ether in their production too. Petroleum ether is a product from the petroleum refining process, but ether is produced via intermolecular dehydration of alcohols. When considering the water solubility, some ether molecules can form hydrogen bonds with water molecules and are water soluble whereas petroleum ether never forms hydrogen bonds, and are water insoluble.

So, this is also a difference between ether and petroleum ether. Ether and petroleum ether have closely related names, but they are completely different in chemical composition and properties. The key difference between ether and petroleum ether is that ether is an organic compound with a —O- ether linkage, while petroleum ether is a mixture of hydrocarbon compounds. Your email address will not be published.

Figure 1: General Structure of Ether Molecule. Figure 2: A Bottle of Petroleum Ether. The other surprising thing about the petroleum ether is that it does not contain ether linkage -O-.

The only reason behind the usage of the figurative term ether is to signify the extreme lightness and volatility of this compound made up of different hydrocarbon compounds. Benzin, benzine, petroleum benzin, canadol, light ligroin, and skellysolve are some of the other names used for petroleum ether. Petroleum ether is the product we get from the petroleum refining process.

In between naphtha and kerosene, we get petroleum ether as the product of distillation process. Harlon currently works as a quality moderator and content writer for Difference Wiki. He graduated from the University of California in with a degree in Computer Science. Diethyl ether is used in industries to make other chemicals and in biomedical research. It is a well-known anesthetic agent and widely used as a solvent.

It is commonly used as a solvent for waxes, fats, oils, perfumes, alkaloids, and gums. Petroleum ether is used as a solvent, fuel, a detergent and as an insecticide. It is a solvent for oils, fats and waxes. It is also used in photography, paints and varnishes. The inhalation of diethyl ether vapour can cause nausea, headache, vomiting, and loss of consciousness. Eye contact may cause irritation and dermal contact with wet clothing can cause burns.

The most common ways of petroleum ether exposure can happen through inhalation and skin contact. Over exposure is harmful, and it brings several health effects to the human body. Severe effects can be caused if it contains a higher concentration of aromatic hydrocarbons. For example, the inhalation affects the central nervous system CNS causing headaches, dizziness, nausea, fatigue and incoordination. Skin contact may cause skin allergies, and oral ingestion causes mucous membrane irritation, vomiting, and central nervous system depression.