Dodecane (also known as dihexyl, bihexyl, adakane 12, or duodecane) is an oily liquid n-alkane hydrocarbon with the chemical formula C<sub>12</sub>H<sub>26</sub> (which has 355 isomers).

It is used as a solvent, distillation chaser, and scintillator component. It is used as a diluent for tributyl phosphate (TBP) in nuclear reprocessing plants.

Combustion reaction

The combustion reaction of dodecane is as follows:

:C<sub>12</sub>H<sub>26</sub>(l) + 18.5 O<sub>2</sub>(g)&nbsp;→ 12 CO<sub>2</sub>(g)&nbsp;+ 13 H<sub>2</sub>O(g)

:ΔH° = −7513 kJ

One litre of fuel needs about 15&nbsp;kg of air to burn (2.6 kg of oxygen), and generates 2.3&nbsp;kg (or 1.2 m<sup>3</sup>) of CO<sub>2</sub> upon complete combustion.

Jet fuel surrogate

In recent years, n-dodecane has garnered attention as a possible surrogate for kerosene-based fuels such as Jet-A, S-8, and other conventional aviation fuels. It is considered a second-generation fuel surrogate designed to emulate the laminar flame speed, largely supplanting n-decane, primarily due to its higher molecular mass and lower hydrogen-to-carbon ratio which better reflect the n-alkane content of jet fuels.

See also

  • Higher alkanes
  • Kerosene
  • List of isomers of dodecane

References

  • Material Safety Data Sheet for Dodecane
  • Dodecane, Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases