petroleum ether

American  

noun

1. a flammable, low-boiling hydrocarbon mixture produced by the fractional distillation of petroleum, used as a solvent.

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petroleum ether British  

noun

1. a volatile mixture of the higher alkane hydrocarbons, obtained as a fraction of petroleum and used as a solvent

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Etymology

Origin of petroleum ether

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

Determine the amount of pressure applied to the floor of the drum if the petroleum ether fills the drum to its top.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

The molecularly lighter substances are given off, beginning with petroleum ether.

From Time Magazine Archive

Between 70� and 120� petroleum ether and petroleum naphtha are produced, and they together constitute what is commonly called petrol.

From Marvels of Scientific Invention An Interesting Account in Non-technical Language of the Invention of Guns, Torpedoes, Submarine Mines, Up-to-date Smelting, Freezing, Colour Photography, and many other recent Discoveries of Science by Corbin, Thomas W.

The solutions are put together, and the petroleum ether distilled off in vacuo at a low temperature, until there remains in the flask a dark brown sirup, which on cooling solidifies into a crystalline mass.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 447, July 26, 1884 by Various

The residue retained by the filter paper is washed with petroleum ether until free from fat, dried in the water-oven at 100° C. and weighed.

From The Handbook of Soap Manufacture by Simmons, W. H.