bryan wann :: binary fury

This weekend I was reading about petrochemical feedstocks. Ethane (C₂H₆) is produced from natural gas. Ethane is used to produce ethylene. Ethylene is also used in plant biology, specifically to ripen things. So the next time you put bananas in a brown paper bag with other fruit to help it ripen, it’s the ethylene being offgassed from the banana that helps the ripening process. Neat.

Tags: chemistry