Ethanol

Question 1

[ ] (C₂H₄) can be [ ] with steam (H₂O) in the presence of a [ ] to make ethanol

Answer 1

Ethene
hydrated
catalyst

Question 2

What’s good about the ethene–> ethanol process?

Answer 2

1) At the moment it is cheap because ethene is fairly cheap and not much is wasted

Question 3

What is bad about the ethene–> ethanol process?

Answer 3

1) Ethene’s produced from crude oil, which is non-renewable resource that is running out
2) This means that using ethene to make ethanol will become very expensive

Question 4

How is the ethanol that is in beer and wine made?

Answer 4

Fermentation of sugar

Question 5

What is the word equation for the fermentation of sugar?

Answer 5

Sugar -> Carbon dioxide + ethanol

Question 6

What is needed to ferment sugar?

Answer 6

Yeast

Question 7

What are the advantages of making ethanol through fermentation rather than from ethene?

Answer 7

1) Lower temperature and simpler equipment than with ethene
2) The raw material is a renewable source (fermentation)
3) Ethanol (fermentation) can e used as quite a cheap fuel in countries which don’t have oil reserves for making petrol

Question 8

What are the disadvantages of making ethanol through fermentation rather than from ethene?

Answer 8

The ethanol you get fro fermentation isn’t very concentrated, so if you want to increase it’s strength you have to distil it. It also needs to be purified