A hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls.

A hydrocarbon is an organic compound made of nothing more than carbons and hydrogen. It is possible for double or triple bonds to form between carbon atoms and even for structures, such as rings, to form.
Saturated hydrocarbons have as many hydrogen atoms as possible attached to every carbon. For carbons on the end of a molecular chain, three can be attached. For carbons in the middle of a chain or a ring, two can be attached. For a carbon atom all by itself, four hydrogen atoms can be attached. Saturated hydrocarbons have only single bonds between adjacent carbon atoms. 
Unsaturated hydrocarbons have double and/or triple bonds between some of the carbon atoms.

There are different kinds of Hydrocarbon: Halocarbon, Alcohol, Ether, Aldehyde, Ketone, Carboxylic acid, Amine, Amide and Ester.

This blog shows the Risk and Benefits of a Hydrocarbon called, Ester.

ESTER

Esters are chemical compounds derived from and acid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one -OH (hydroxyl) group is replaced by an -O-alkyl (alkoxy) group.Usually, esters are derived from a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glyverides, which are fatty acid esters of glycerol, are important esters in biology, being one of the main classes of lipids, and making up the bulk of animal fats and vegetable oils. Esters with low molecular weight are commonly used as fragrances and found in essential oils and pheromones. Phosphoesters form the backbone of DNA molecules. Nitrate esters, such as nitroglycerin, are known for their explosive properties, while polyesters are important plastics, with monomers linked by ester moieties.

• A carboxylate ester. R and R' denote any alkyl or aryl group. R can also be a hydrogen atom.

The word 'ester' was coined in 1848 by German chemist Leopold Gmelin,probably as a contraction of the German Essigäther, "arcetic ether".

Alcohols, ethers, esters, halogen hydrocarbons and other organic compounds are specifically used in the extraction stages of chemical-clinical analyses and in chromatography; furthermore, they have solvent, decolourizing and degreasing properties. The high use of methanol, toluene and chloroform must be mentioned. As far as light microscopy is concerned, xilene is used as diaphanizing agent and paraffin is employed for tissue inclusion. Numerous substances are used as dye; some are of daily usage, such as hematoxylin, eosin and methylene blue for pan-optical dyeing, fluorescein for immunofluorescence and xilidine derivatives for colourimetric chemical dosage.

BENEFITS OF USING ESTER

• Vitamin C is an antioxidant that works to support our immune system by fighting the damaging effects of free radicals, which may be responsible for the premature aging of metabolic cells.* Free radicals are created in a number of ways; externally through pollution, stress and poor diet, and internally through the normal function of our bodies.
• Non-Acidic and Gentle on the Stomach
  In a study to demonstrate Ester-C^®’s stomach-friendly properties, individuals sensitive to acidic foods were given Vitamin C as Ester-C^®. At the end of the study, it was reported that Ester-C^® was a well-tolerated form of Vitamin C.² In addition, Ester-C^® was rated as "very good” for tolerability by a majority of subjects. For anyone with a sensitive stomach, Ester-C^® is a smart choice.

• Nice Dose of Vitamin C

  • A dose of Ester-C supplies between 500 and 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C, which is much more than the 75 milligrams women need each day and the 90 milligrams men should have, according to the Institute of Medicine's recommendations. It's thought that vitamin C can prevent the common cold, but according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, that's not the case for most people. Instead, taking 200 milligrams or more of vitamin C per day might help shorten the duration of a cold and help reduce the associated symptoms, the University of Maryland Medical Center reports.
• While some synthetic motor oil use hydrocarbon (PAO) as their base material, Organic based ester (base stock) for its motor oil inherents high quality characteristics has proven to be the highest quality base material for synthetic oil used even by aeroplanes. One of the organic ester based synthetic oil is Chemlube. Chemlube synthetic oil remains committed to the use of organic ester although costs are about 40% more expensive than PAO or hydrocarbon synthetic oil.

RISK OF USING ESTER

• Fires, outbursts and explosions.
  In fact, many compounds (such as organic solvents) are volatile and easily inflammable; risks deriving from the use of compressed or liquefied gases (oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, helium and others) should be also mentioned.
• Irritations and caustic injuries (chemical burns).
  Acids and bases, but also some salts, have a noxious power which varies in strength with the tissue these substances come in contact with. Some compounds (for example fluoridric acid, sodium hydroxide) may be responsible for very bad injuries to the skin, the eyes and, in case of accidental ingestion, to the upper digestive system. Furthermore, irritating gases and vapours (such as gaseous chlorine) may develop during different reactions.
• Acute intoxications.
  Extremely powerful poisons, such as cyanide, arsenic, mercury compounds, animal and vegetal toxins, may be found in the laboratories. Intoxication may occur as a result of accidental ingestion or inhalation or, less frequentely, as a result of skin contact or inoculation (for example, through needles or glassworks' fragments).
• Chronic intoxications.
  These may arise as a consequence of prolonged exposure to relatively small doses, unable to produce acute effects. For example, it has been widely reported that chronic exposure to organic solvents, as it may happen in industry workers, may lead to pathological changes in different organs and apparatuses. The most frequently reported toxic effects include liver disease, nephropathy, coagulation disorders and nervous system disorders. However, the amounts of substances generally employed in laboratories are small if compared to the amounts employed in industry, and even the exposure time is shorter. On the other hand, the exposure in a laboratory is usually irregular and is often simultaneous to a big variety of compounds. Furthermore, the constant potentiation of the analytical activity involves the introduction of new techniques and instrumentation that make manipulation and risk conditions very variable. Therefore, very few attempts of evaluating the chronic toxic risk in a laboratory exist, making it impossible to draw conclusions. In fact, there is no significant epidemiological study on the predominant diseases in such environment and the only accounts in the literature refer to sporadic clinical cases.
• Allergies.
  Many substances in the laboratory (such as citric acid, picric acid, sulphanilic acid, chrome and compounds, formaldehyde, hydrazine, hydroquinone, nitroaniline, paraffin, piridine, o-tolouidine, triethanolamine) may induce cutaneous or, rarely, respiratory sensitization. These events are poorly foreseeable and strongly conditioned by the individual susceptibility of the exposed subjects.
• Carcinogenesis and mutagenesis.
  Substances with ascertained mutagenic and/or carcinogenic activity (such as benzene, bischloromethylether, chrome and compounds) and with suspected mutagenic and/or carcinogenic activity (such as chloroform, formaldehyde, carbon tetrachloride) are often found in biomedical laboratories. Their manipulation is a crucial toxicological problem in the laboratory ambit. This problem has been studied since the 1970s by means of epidemiological studies and chromosomic maps, but no univocal result has been obtained on whether laboratory workers have a significantly higher mutagenic or carcinogenic risk. In these studies, general mortality data for cancer are discordant (major evidence being about malignant haematological disorders and nervous system cancer). The major difficulty consists in the precise estimate of the exposure because usually it has been estimated on the basis of the qualification of the subjects and of the working site. This entails enormous difficulties in identifying the compounds or the groups of compounds responsible for the reported malignancies.