alcohols Flashcards
how are alcohols produced
they are industrially by hydration of alkenes in the presence of an acid catalyst
how is ethanol produced
produced by fermentation of glucose using years that is undergoing anaerobic respiration
what are the condition of ethanol being produced
36 degree, anaerobic conditions and less than 15% ethanol solution for optimum enzyme function
what happens to ethanol that is produced industrially
it is separated by fractional distillation and can be used as biofuel
define biofuel
fuel produced from renewable sources
what are the advantages of biofuel
only basic equipment is needed, the sugar is renewable, it is carbon neutral and has increased income for farmers
what are disadvantages of biofuel
slow process and ethanol is not pure, it has a high production cost and the land could be used for crop production
is photosynthesis carbon neutral
the same amount of carbon is released and taken in, however during fuel transport the carbon dioxide is used to produce ethanol through hydration in the presence of an acid catalyst
advantages of producing ethanol through hydration
fast, pure ethanol and low costs
disadvantages of producing ethanol through hydration
requires advanced equipment, ethanol is new renewable and high pressure means it has high energy costs
general formula of alcohol
CnH2n+10H
role of alcohol
form hydrogen bonds in water to make them soluble
how are primary alcohols oxidised
into aldehydes which can be further oxidised to carboxylic acids, they need gentle heating and oxidising agent with immediate distillation, then they can be heated under reflux with no distillation using an oxidising agent
how are secondary alcohols oxidised
into ketones heat under reflux and oxidising agents
how are tertiary alcohols
can not be early oxidised, they do not have an hydrogen atom on the carbon bonded to the OH group, acidified potassium dichromate is a suitable oxidising agent.
