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
Chemical compound of atoms (chemical elements) in a fixed stoichiometric proportion can be termed a "chemical compound"; the concept is most readily understood when considering pure chemical substances. It follows from their being composed of fixed proportions of two or more types of atoms that chemical compounds can be converted, via chemical reaction, into compounds or substances each having fewer atoms. The ratio of each element in the compound is expressed in a ratio in its chemical formula. A chemical formula is a way of expressing information about the proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound, using the standard abbreviations