olefin (redirected from olefines)

olefin (ō`ləfĭn) or olefin series: see alkene.

---

olefin

 or alkene

Any unsaturated hydrocarbon containing one or more pairs of carbon atoms linked by a double bond (see covalent bond, saturation). Olefins may be classified by whether the double bond is in a ring (cyclic) or a chain (acyclic, or aliphatic) or by the number of double bonds (monoolefin, diolefin, etc.). Rare in nature, olefins are obtained by the cracking of petroleum fractions at high temperatures. The simplest ones (ethylene, propylene, butylene, butadiene, and isoprene) are the basis of the petrochemicals industry. They react by adding other chemical agents at the double bond to form derivatives or polymers.

---

olefin [′ō·lə·fən]

(organic chemistry)

C_nH_2nA family of unsaturated, chemically active hydrocarbons with one carbon-carbon double bond; includes ethylene and propylene.

(textiles)

A manufactured fiber in which the fiber-forming substance is any long-chain synthetic polymer composed of at least 85% by weight of ethylene, propylene, or other olefin units except amorphous (noncrystalline) polyolefins qualifying as rubber.