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Glite Dictionary
butene

butene

1 8.6
A simple chemical made of carbon and hydrogen used to make plastics and synthetic rubber
  • noun
  • /ˈbjuːtiːn/
  • Specialized
: buteno
  • The use of butene in producing synthetic rubber is well-established in the industry.

Examples

  • In the petrochemical industry, butene is a key component for making various plastics.

  • Chemists often analyze butene to understand its properties in polymerization.

  • DIAGRAM: Scheme II; Poly (1-butene sulfone) (PBS) resist.

    Academic text (2001)

Synonyms

butylene
vsbutene
  • Specialized
1 8.8

A chemical used to make synthetic rubber and other industrial products

focuses on use for rubbers and plastics rather than broad chemicals

Surface Forms

butene singular
butenes plural

Morphology

butene = but (opaque) = but + ene

Formally built from the chemical combining form 'but-' + suffix '-ene', but these morphemes are technical and not interpretable by an average B1 learner.

Etymology

Butene comes from the but- part, an old chemical root linked to butter because early chemists found related substances in butter, and the ending -ene, which marks molecules with a 'double bond' and appears in words like ethylene. So, butene is a chemical with four carbon atoms and a 'double bond' that is used to make plastics and synthetic rubber.