Question

Ethanol can be prepared either by fermentation or from ethene.

(a) Explain the term 'fermentation' and give the full structural formula of ethanol.

(b) Give one large-scale use of ethanol.

(c) Name the products formed when ethanol is burnt in excess of air. Give an equation for this reaction.

Answer 1

Ethanol is a member of the Alcohol group. The molecular formula of Ethanol is ${\mathrm{CH}}_3{\mathrm{CH}}_2\mathrm{OH}$.

(a) Fermentation is a metabolic process that uses enzymes to produce chemical changes in organic substrates.

The structural formula of Ethanol is given below:

(b) Ethanol is widely utilized as a solvent in the production of varnishes and perfumes.

(c) When Ethanol is burnt in excess of air, it will produce Carbon dioxide (${\mathrm{CO}}_2$) and Water (${\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}$). The reaction is given below:

$\underset{\mathrm{Ethanol}}{{\mathrm{C}}_2{\mathrm{H}}_5\mathrm{OH}\left(\mathrm{l}\right)}+\underset{\mathrm{Oxygen}}{3{\mathrm{O}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)}\to \underset{\mathrm{Carbon}\mathrm{dioxide}}{2{\mathrm{CO}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)}+\underset{\mathrm{Water}}{3{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\left(\mathrm{l}\right)}$