How Will You Be Keeping Warm This Winter...........

[toggleswitch2]

HMMM

I thought it was

Methane CH4
Ethane C2H6
Propane C3H8
Butane C4H10
Pentane C5H12
Hexane C6H14
Heptane C7H16
Octane C8H18

Where "X" is the appropriate nubmer of Hydrogens.

 

[sudsmaster]

Oops, right, methane has but one carbon atom, CH4. Ethane would be C2H6.

I must have ethanol on the brain today ;-)

(C202H6)

Anyway, the point is the same. Propane has more carbon-carbon bonds, which release more energy when broken in combustion. Actually, methane has no carbon-carbon bonds, so the energy released by burning methane is from breaking the C-H bonds and turning them into C-O2 and H2-O bonds. Propane gets an extra kick from the C-C-C bond breakage.

OK, it's been decades since I studied organic chemistry but that's basically the case.

I'm disregarding the fact that natural gas can contain significant amounts of propane. But the major portion is still methane.

 

[sudsmaster]

PS-togs...

You might want to look into one of the dual-hose four-way portable AC units. These can be rolled from room to room and the pricier models from Soleus and others can be used as heat exchangers as well as AC units. They would probably function well until the outdoor temps dip below 40F - but they would help fill in the gap in fall between a drop in temps and when the building heat comes on. Plus, they are much more energy efficient than resistance heating units.

 

[turboace]

Ugh, organic!

The only thing I remember from Organic Chemistry is:

Mary
Eats
Peanut
Butter

Methyl
Ethyl
Propyl
Butyl

Ha, I hated that professor, Dr. Russell. I'm sure she is long since dead. Even though she passed me with a D+ I still managed a 3.92 overall.