Definition of "butadiene" [butadiene]

• A colorless, highly flammable hydrocarbon, C4H6, obtained from petroleum and used in the manufacture of synthetic rubber. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Replacing homes and cars in the mostly rural areas devastated by the quake and tsunami will boost Japan's demand for petrochemicals ranging from butadiene, which is used in making molded plastic auto body components, to solvents and plastics used in the construction trades."
• "Prices for natural rubber have stabilized at high levels but prices for synthetic rubber are increasing rapidly, driven by higher prices of butadiene, which is used to make it, Mr. Setzer said on the sidelines of the Frankfurt Motor Show Wednesday."
• "Now, we're also getting word here from the Kentucky division of emergency management that that chemical is something called butadiene, this is a colorless, flammable gas, mainly used to manufacture rubber and paint and that is the word coming to us from the Kentucky division of emergency management."