Topic 6 - Production of Ethanol (Paper 2)

Question 1

how is ethene produced?

Answer 1

from crude oil by cracking

Question 2

what happens when ethene is reacted with steam?

Answer 2

ethanol is produced

Question 3

what type of reaction is ethene and steam?

Answer 3

addition reaction, as water is added to the molecule

Question 4

what conditions does the reaction between ethene and steam need?

Answer 4

300 degree celcius heat, 60-70 atmospheres pressure and a phosphoric acid catalyst

Question 5

what are the pros and cons of using ethene to make ethanol?

Answer 5

pro: ethene is cheap and mostly used up
con: crude oil is non-renewable

Question 6

what happens in fermentation?

Answer 6

sugar (glucose) is converted into ethanol using yeast

Question 7

what conditions does fermentation need?

Answer 7

a temperature of about 30 degrees celcius for the enzymes in yeast, anaerobic conditions

Question 8

what happens when ethanol is exposed to oxygen?

Answer 8

oxygen converts the ethanol to ethanoic acid

Question 9

what are the pros and cons of fermentation?

Answer 9

pros: all renewable resources
cons: ethanol from fermentation is unconcentrated so needs to be distilled and purified