Bibliography

General Chemistry Online: FAQ: Chemical change: What are some examples of reactions that involve catalysts? . 2017. General Chemistry Online: FAQ: Chemical change: What are some examples of reactions that involve catalysts? . [ONLINE] Available at: http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/reactions/faq/examples-of-catalysts.shtml. [Accessed 10 May 2017].

Green house gases emissions in the production and use of ethanol from sugarcane in Brazil: The 2005/2006 averages and a prediction for 2020 . 2017. Green house gases emissions in the production and use of ethanol from sugarcane in Brazil: The 2005/2006 averages and a prediction for 2020 . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0961953407002310. [Accessed 9 May 2017].

Ethanol: Pros & Cons | GreenTheFuture.com. 2017. Ethanol: Pros & Cons | GreenTheFuture.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://greenthefuture.com/ETHANOL_PROSCONS.html. [Accessed 14 May 2017].

Pubchem. 2017. ethanol | CH3CH2OH - PubChem. [ONLINE] Available at: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/ethanol. [Accessed 9 May 2017].

Blog #3

Blog #3 24/2/17

Hello Blogheads!

Unfortunately, this will be my last entry.

Today I will be assessing the potential of ethanol to be used as an alternative fuel and discus the pros and cos of its use.

The use of ethanol encompasses a number of advantages and disadvantages regarding its use as a complete alternative to petrochemicals.

Advantages

The most important advantage of ethanol as a fuel source is that, unlike petrochemicals, it is a completely renewable resource, meaning that it will never run out due to our infinite supply of glucose from plant matter. in addition, no research into the technology of the extraction process is required, as we already have the technology required and it has been proven to work. Ethanol unlike petrochemicals are completely greenhouse friendly. as mentioned in the previous blog, the carbon dioxide released due to the burning if ethanol is equal to the amount that was absorbed by the plants during photosynthesis to make sugar, therefore the plant derived ethanol does not contribute to the growing “Greenhouse effect” which is detrimentally affecting the Earth. Finally as previously mentioned, no engine modifications are required when petrol is mixed with up to 20% ethanol, helping conserve petrol overall.

Disadvantages

if petrochemicals want to be completely replaced with ethanol, up to 75% of agricultural land would need to be dedicated to the ethanol industry which causes major disadvantages to farmers and commercial agriculturalists. in the 1980’s, Brazil attempted to implement ethanol as their primary source of fuel, dedicating 275% of their agriculture to ethanol production. the attempt led to an economic failure, and disrupted a major segment of their food production farming o make way for “ethanol farming”. to run vehicles on pure ethanol fuel, a completely new engine is required to be designed and built to allow for ethanol to function as a fuel. Ethanol tends to be corrosive so the materials which the engine is constructed out of must suit this need. Ethanol also has a different energy content, ignition temperature and burn characteristics compared to petrochemicals. The cost of setting up factories that will be able to design a new engine design is extremely high, causing their production to be very unlikely meaning that there is a low chance that ethanol will be used for more than 10% as anytime soon.  a full extender

 

Overall, with the current technologies and knowledge about ethanol, the use of ethanol as a main source of fuel seems very unlikely UNTIL either, efficient production from cellulose, derived from crop wastes is researched and used efficiently so that no crops need to be grown just fir ethanol production OR renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power operate the distillation process of ethanol.

Thank you for reading my weekly blog about ethanol Blogheads! it was a pleasure sharing my studies with you. See you next time!

Blog #2

Blog #2 12/2/17

Welcome back Blogheads! this is my second block so if you haven’t read my first one make sure to check it out!

Today I’m going to be explaining the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel and talk about its current usage.

Through my studies and intense research about ethanol and its properties I believe that soon, it will replace petrochemicals as a source of fuel as ethanol, is renewable since it can be extracted the glucose found in plants such as sugarcane. the main reasoning for this occurrence is that we now have the technology to produce ethanol through the fermentation process, which proves to be a major advantage over petroleum as natural supplies of crude oil are depreciating. Ethanol is considered a renewable resource as not only will plants always be abundant in any environment, but plants can also be grown at a large scale overall contributing to ethanol production. the necessary glucose molecules are also present in dead plant matter, meaning that after plans have served their purpose, e.g., provide us with necessary fruits and vegetables etc. we can then extract necessary glucose molecules from their remains, further benefiting our societies.

Ethanol is extremely efficient due to its renewable nature and is also environmentally friendly. the carbon dioxide released due to the burning if ethanol is equal to the amount that was absorbed by the plants during photosynthesis to make sugar, therefore the plant derived ethanol does not contribute to the growing “Greenhouse effect” which is detrimentally affecting the Earth.

Ethanol can be added to petrol at a 10-20% ratio and burnt without any engine modifications needed, with the only disadvantage being a slight loss in engine performance. This is seen in most petrol stations, with E-10 (10 % ethanol) being available for purchase at a cheaper price compared to unleaded petroleum. this use of ethanol is used as an “extender”, to conserve petrol and help reduce Greenhouse emissions has been used for years on a small scale, with the Australian government encouraging its use as mentioned above (E-10). Its usage over the past 10 years has led to the decrease of Australia’s contribution to the overall “greenhouse effect” by about 2% which is an astounding number when you take in to consideration that it has only been used by a small percentage of the Australian Population. one of the major Disadvantages of ethanol as mentioned above, is the loss of engine power, which is a disadvantage for companies which thrive on this factor, such as courier companies and tow truck companies to name a few. Also, Vehicles which use diesel engines will not benefit from E-10To fix this problem new engines must be built to extract the true power of ethanol!   

That’s all for today Blogheads, in my next vlog I will be assessing the potential of ethanol t be used as an alternative fuel and the advantages and disadvantages of its use.

See you soon!!

Blog #1

Blog#1 10/2/2017

Hello Blogheads! My name is Dr.Shickshak and I will be writing a 3 part blog entry on Ethanol As A Fuel Source. I hope you enjoy!!!

Modern society is extremely dependent on fuel as a basis of progression and a means of providing energy and electricity to the world. Although resources such as coal and crude oil are providing us with the necessary energy requirements to use as a fuel for automobiles, planes, motorbikes etc. they are non-renewable sources of fuel, drawing attention to the fact that eventually all the coal and crude oil reserves will cease and we will be let looking for an alternative fuel source. A number of Chemists and Chemical engineers such as myself, have been given the responsibility to research and assess the potential of alternative natural, renewable resources as an alternative fuel for society.

The fuel that is used in societies today is petrol, which is extracted from crude oil which are mined from natural reserves found in the earth. Petrol possesses all the necessary molecular components allowing for it to be a fuel. Although the extraction of petroleum is highly efficient and cost effective, it has been proven in studies collected by the International Chemical Engineers Association, that our natural embankments of crude oil have approximately 100 years of use left, until they are completely drained. Due to this study, a worldwide frenzy over the study of new renewable sources of fuel has occurred, causing me to stumble on perhaps the best renewable fuel resources known to man, Ethanol which is a biopolymer* able to be extracted from sugar cane. Ethanol is a type of Alkanol. Alkanols are a group of alcohols which, due to their structure, are excellent fuels. Their polar covalent bond in the -OH group (shown in the diagram above) creates a charge dipole, and allows for strong hydrogen bonding to exist between each individual alkanol monomer*. One of the major advantages of these properties, is the fact that they cause alkanols to become non-flammable allowing for their use as fuels in industry and everyday life. Ethanol is an extremely important alkanol as it can be created by an Addition reaction between ethylene and water, and be broken down to ethylene, both with the aid of a H2SO4 (Sulphuric Acid) Catalyst. the significance of this reaction is that ethanol can be made from nothing but plant materials! By processes that are renewable and sustainable! the reaction is as follows:

CH2=CH2+H20⇌CH3-CH2-OH

Making Ethylene from ethanol would result in a major chemical resource being available without the use of non-renewable petrochemicals! 

Fermentation is the process used to create ethylene from ethanol, presented in the following flow chart.

 

Glucose (sugar) is a natural resource found in many plants such as corn, sugarcane etc. contains the essential chemical components to create ethanol through the fermentation process.


C6H1206+ -> 2CH2H5OH (ETHANOL) +2C02

The process may look simple, but in reality is complicated. Each step of the fermentation process must be catalysed by a separate enzyme produced by the living yeast cells in the yeast. in order for the fermentation to successfully produce ethanol; a suitable carbohydrate source(glucose), live yeast, constant temperature (22-25°C) and anaerobic conditions (no oxygen) are required. A simple fermentation process is included in the link below for you to try in a laboratory! http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/res00000470/fermentation-of-glucose-using-yeast?cmpid=CMP00005115

Thank you for reading my blog today Blogheads! Tune back in tomorrow for an update on my studies as I will be explaining the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel and the success of its current usage. See you soon

*biopolymer- renewable polymer made from plants.

*monomer- single molecule of a substance