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Pentanes are some of the primary blowing agents used in the production of polystyrene foam and other foams. Usually, a mixture of n-, i-, and increasingly cyclopentane is used for this purpose. Acid-catalyzed isomerization gives isopentane, which is used in producing high-octane fuels.
n-Pentane is a flammable liquid. It is used as a solvent, as a build- ing block chemical in reactions to form other industrial substances, as a component of fuel, and as an aerosol propellant. n-Pentane has been used as the blowing agent of choice for expanded polystyrene since the 1970s.
The possibility of phthalic anhydride production by n-pentane partial oxidation is of interest. n-Pentane as a raw material costs less than o-xylene which is the raw material commercially used today to produce phthalic anhydride.