Chloroethane Chloroethane Chloroethane or monochloroethane, commonly known by its old name ethyl chloride, is a chemical compound with chemical formula , once widely used in producing tetraethyllead, a gasoline additive. It is a colorless, flammable gas or refrigerated liquid with a faintly sweet odor. Chloroethane is produced by hydrochlorination of ethene: At various times in the past, chloroethane has also been produced from ethanol and hydrochloric acid, or from ethane and chlorine, but these routes are no longer economical. Some chloroethane is generated as a byproduct of polyvinyl chloride production. Should demand for chloroethane continue to fall to the point where
Flammable liquid Flammable liquid Generally, a flammable liquid is a combustible liquid that can easily catch fire. However, it is not the liquid itself that burns, but the vapor cloud above the liquid that will burn if the vapor's concentration in air is between the lower flammable limit (LFL) and upper flammable limit (UFL) of the liquid. A number of attempts have been made to standardise the definition of 'flammable' based on the need to classify such fluids as presenting a higher risk of ignition and therefore needing additional precautions. In the US, a flammable liquid is defined as one with a