Hydrocarbon mixtures are a group of various volatile, highly flammable, mixtures used chiefly as nonpolar solvents.
[1] Petroleum ether should not be confused with the class of organic compounds called ethers; and equally, going under its alternative name of benzine, it should not be confused with benzene.
(Benzine is a mixture of alkanes, such as pentane, hexane, and heptane; whereas benzene is a cyclic, aromatic hydrocarbon.)
A hydrocarbon is any chemical compound that consists only of the elements carbon (C) and hydrogen (H).
[2] Petroleum ether is obtained from petroleum refineries as the portion of the distillate which is intermediate between the lighter naphtha and the heavier kerosene.