Production of ethanol

what are the uses of ethanol

1. as a chemical feedstock to produce other organic compounds

2. as a biofuel ( ethanol can be burned like petrol)

3. used in alcoholic drinks such as beer, wine and spirits

how to produce ethanol from steam

1. react ethene ( C₂H₄ ) with steam ( gaseous H₂O)

2. Conditions : high temperature ( 300 degrees celcius), high pressure 60-70atm, phosphoric acid catalyst

what type of reaction is making ethanol from steam

an addition reaction as the water molecule is added to the ethene molecule

advantages of making ethanol from steam

- ethene is cheap and the reaction itself is cheap and efficient

disadvantages of making ethanol from steam

- ethene is made from crude oil which is a non- renewable resource, so if if starts to run out it’ll become expensive and it damages the environment

what is fermentation

the anaerobic respiration of sugars by yeast cells to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide

how to produce ethanol using fermentation

- carried out in fermentation tanks

- requires yeast cells which have naturally ocurring enzymes to catalyse the reaction

- temperatures of 30 to 40 degrees celcius ( it’s the optimum temperature for enzymes)

- must be anaerobic conditions so that ethanol isn’t oxidised to form ethanoic acid

pros and cons of making ethanol from fermentation

- sugar/glucose is renewable resource so can’t run out, yeast are easy to grow

- the process is relatively slow, the ethanol produced isn’t pure so must be distilled by fractional distillation