Ligroin is the

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...

fraction consisting mostly of C₇ and C₈

hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ...

s and boiling in the range 90‒140 °C (194–284 °F). The fraction is also called heavy

naphtha Naphtha ( or ) is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture. Mixtures labelled ''naphtha'' have been produced from natural gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and the distillation of coal tar and peat. In different industries and regions '' ...

. Ligroin is used as a laboratory

solvent A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...

. Products under the name ligroin can have boiling ranges as low as 60‒80 °C and may be called light naphtha. The name ''ligroin'' (or ''ligroine'' or ''ligroïne'') appeared as early as 1866.The name "ligroin" was coined in the United States: * From p. 349: ''"Ligroine; der in Amerika erfundene Name für einen der flüchtigeren Teile des rohen Petroleums, … "'' (Ligroin: the name that was coined in America for one of the more volatile parts of crude petroleum, … ) Early use in English: * From p. 389: "Dr. Van der Weyde then exhibited some samples of the products of distillation of tar, and a safety-lamp for burning the lighter hydro-carbons, which is mainly a reproduction of the "Ligroine" lamp invented and put into the market first by C. Schreiber in Munich (Bavaria), and described in the March number of ''Dingler's Polytechnic Journal''." * See also: Early use in German: * From p. 474: ''"Das einzige Gefährliche ist die Aufbewahrung des Leuchtstoffes, der sogenannten Li-gro-ine selbst. Diese Naphta oder Li-gro-ine muß, wenn in großen Quantitäten vorhanden, in wohl verschlossenen Gefäßen aufbewahrt werden."'' (The one danger is the storage of the lamp fuel, the so-called "ligroin" itself. This naphtha or "ligroin" must, if present in large quantities, be stored in well sealed containers.)

Standards

Ligroin is assigned the CAS Registry Number 8032-32-4, which is also applied to many other products, particularly the lower boiling ones, called petroleum spirit,

petroleum ether Petroleum ether is the petroleum fraction consisting of aliphatic hydrocarbons and boiling in the range 35–60 °C, and commonly used as a laboratory solvent. Despite the name, petroleum ether is not classified as an ether; the term is used ...

and

petroleum benzine Petroleum benzine is a hydrocarbon-based solvent mixture that is classified by its physical properties (e.g. boiling point, vapor pressure) rather than a specific chemical composition. This complicates distinction within the long list of petroleu ...

Use as fuel

Ligroin was used to refuel the world's first production automobile, the

Benz Patent-Motorwagen The Benz Patent-Motorwagen ("patent motorcar"), built in 1885 by the German Carl Benz, is widely regarded as the world's first practical modern automobile and was the first car put into series production. It was patented and unveiled in 1886. T ...

, on a long distance journey between Mannheim and

Pforzheim Pforzheim () is a city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany. It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...

Bertha Benz Bertha Benz (; ; 3 May 1849 – 5 May 1944) was a German automotive pioneer and inventor. She was the business partner and wife of automobile inventor Carl Benz. On 5 August 1888, she was the first person to drive an internal-combustion-engined a ...

added ligroin to the vehicle at a pharmacy in

Wiesloch Wiesloch (, locally ; South Franconian: ''Wissloch''), is a town in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 13 kilometres south of Heidelberg. After Weinheim, Sinsheim and Leimen it is the fourth largest town in the Rhein-Neckar-K ...

, making it the first

filling station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasolin ...

in history. The first functional diesel engine could also run on ligroin.Rudolf Diesel: Die Entstehung des Dieselmotors, Springer, Berlin 1913, . p. 110

References

Notes

{{reflist, group=note Hydrocarbon solvents Petroleum products