Question

How Is Methane Prepared From Sodium Ethanoate?

Answer 1

Preparation of methane from Sodium ethanoate

• Methane can be prepared from the decarboxylation of sodium ethanoate.
• In the laboratory methane is prepared by heating sodium ethanoate with a mixture of sodium hydroxide and calcium oxide( soda lime) with a ratio of 3:1.
• Heating the mixture in the presence of a catalyst, calcium oxide, the $-\mathrm{COONa}$group from sodium ethanoate is replaced by the hydrogen atom from sodium hydroxide.
• This forms methane and sodium hydroxide gets converted into sodium carbonate.
• In this reaction, there is the elimination of carbon dioxide from a salt of carboxylic acid, hence the name decarboxylation.
• It is a step-down reaction as the required product contains one carbon atom less as compared to that of reactants.
• Reaction :

$\underset{\mathrm{Sodium}\mathrm{ethonate}}{{\mathrm{CH}}_3\mathrm{COONa}}+\underset{\mathrm{Sodium}\mathrm{hydroxide}}{\mathrm{NaOH}}\stackrel{\mathrm{CaO}}{\to }\underset{\mathrm{Methnae}}{{\mathrm{CH}}_4}+\underset{\mathrm{Sodium}\mathrm{carbonate}}{{\mathrm{Na}}_2{\mathrm{CO}}_3}$

Thus, Decarboxylation is a method used to prepare Methane using sodium salt of Ethanoic acid (Sodium ethanoate).