A colourless, sweet-smelling, flammable gas, which burns readily in air. It occurs in natural gas, and is made by the cracking of petroleum. Ethene, the first member of the alkenes, is the simplest hydrocarbon to contain the reactive carbon-carbon double bond, and is a very important starting material in the petrochemicals industry. It can be polymerized to form polythene . It reacts with steam to form ethanol , and with oxygen to form epoxyethane, which is used to make antifreeze, synthetic rubber, solvents, herbicides, detergents, and cosmetics.
Ethene produces ripening in fruit, but also inhibits growth in plants.
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