(chemistry) Any of a class of organic compounds of sulphur, ( R₁.S.R₂ ); they tend to be foul-smelling. When R₂ is a hydrogen atom, they are termed thiols or thioalcohols.
Used in a Sentence
mercaptan
Definition, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for mercaptan.
Editorial note
Flammability, and the refrigerant must be pure so no mercaptan can be added which means if there’s a propane leak, nobody will smell it.
Examples19
Definitions1
Parts of speech1
Quick take
(chemistry) Any of a class of organic compounds of sulphur, ( R₁.S.R₂ ); they tend to be foul-smelling. When R₂ is a hydrogen atom, they are termed thiols or thioalcohols.
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of mercaptan gathered in one view.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for mercaptan.
noun
(chemistry) Any of a class of organic compounds of sulphur, ( R₁.S.R₂ ); they tend to be foul-smelling. When R₂ is a hydrogen atom, they are termed thiols or thioalcohols.
Example sentences
Flammability, and the refrigerant must be pure so no mercaptan can be added which means if there’s a propane leak, nobody will smell it.
It appears bad breath is (mainly?) due to the presence of hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan [1].
More likely to be methyl mercaptan as that is frequently used as an odorant and is available from chemical suppliers.
You filter out mercaptan, H2S, CO2 using post processing gas treatment like amine cycles.
They add mercaptan which is like 1000x the rotten egg smell of H2S.
Do we not have similar issues with natural gas, with gas escaping though holes that mercaptan can't?
Just the way methyl mercaptan from asparagus can be transferred to your urine.
Well, something about the liquid propane residue that remains, some miracle of science and chemistry, creates a density of Ethyl Mercaptan that is shocking.
It's the added mercaptan that gives it the smell you know about.
Isn't mercaptan also much bigger than methane?
If you disconnect a 10 bar LPG line you get a lot of very cold gas on your hand, and it'll take ages to get the mercaptan-y smell off you.
I assume GP was referring to mercaptan, or similar.
Quote examples
There's no H2S in propane, although there's a little methyl mercaptan in it as an odourant so it "smells of gas".
TIL also - until today, I thought it was just "mercaptan".
...but you can still call it "mercaptan" and be ~ correct in most cases.
It is prepared by the acid-catalyzed condensation of methyl mercaptan, the main aromatic compound in both halitosis and foot odor and a secondary compound in flatulence,[1] with formaldehyde." not great!
Proper noun examples
It turns out that added to propane is a tiny amount of the odourant Ethyl Mercaptan.
Mercaptan is incredible at what it does.
Mercaptan is a group of compounds, more than one of which are used as gas odorants, so in some places, gas smells of rotten eggs, similar to H2S, while in others gas doesn't smell like that at all, but a quite distinct smell that's reminiscent garlic and durian.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use mercaptan in a sentence?
Flammability, and the refrigerant must be pure so no mercaptan can be added which means if there’s a propane leak, nobody will smell it.
What does mercaptan mean?
(chemistry) Any of a class of organic compounds of sulphur, ( R₁.S.R₂ ); they tend to be foul-smelling. When R₂ is a hydrogen atom, they are termed thiols or thioalcohols.
What part of speech is mercaptan?
mercaptan is commonly used as noun.