Pentene

Pentene refers to all the alkenes with chemical formula 510 containing a single double bond within its molecular structure. 1-Pentene (pent-1-ene) and 2-pentene (pent-2-ene) differ by the location of the double bond at the first or second carbon-carbon bond. 1-Pentene is an alpha-olefin.

Most often 1-pentene is made as a byproduct of catalytic or thermal cracking of petroleum, or during production of ethylene and propylene via thermal cracking of hydrocarbon fractions.

1-Pentene is rarely isolated as a separate compound. Instead, it is most often blended into gasoline or, in a mixture with other hydrocarbons, alkylated with isobutane to make gasoline.

The only commercial manufacturer of 1-pentene, an olefin with a double bond on the end of the linear chain, is Sasol Ltd, a South African petrochemical company, where it is separated from crude made by the Fischer-Tropsch process.

2-Pentene has two geometrical isomers. Cis-2-Pentene is used in olefin metathesis.

Branched isomers are 2-methylbut-1-ene, 3-methylbut-1-ene (isopentene), and 2-methylbut-2-ene.

Alternative names for pentene molecules include amylene, n-amylene or n-pentene (1-pentene), and beta-n-amylene or sym-methylethylethylene (2-pentene).