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Ethylene
01
a flammable colorless gaseous alkene; obtained from petroleum and natural gas and used in manufacturing many other chemicals; sometimes used as an anesthetic
Example
In the petrochemical industry, natural gas liquids are cracked into ethylene and other olefins for use in polymer production.
The farmer used ethylene gas to ripen the green tomatoes before selling them.
In the laboratory, researchers crack hydrocarbons to produce ethylene and propylene for use in plastics manufacturing.
Ethylene is a monomer that polymerizes to form polyethylene, a widely used plastic.
