Making Ethanol

Ethanol can either be produced by:

• the fermentation of plant sugars
• the reaction of ethene with steam

The reaction of ethene with steam can be shown in the following equations:

Ethene	+	Steam	→	Ethanol
	+		→
C2H4	+	H2O	→	C2H5OH

Ethene is made by the __________ of long __________ chains from __________.

Ethanol is a good fuel (See Future Fuels from C1a) and so production is likely to increase in the future. The relative advantages and disadvantages of each production method can be summarised as follows:

Method	Advantages	Disadvantages
Plant Sugar Fermentation	__________ Will not run out Carbon __________ when burnt	__________ Labour intensive, due to farming and then processing
Ethene and Steam	__________ Simple add on process at oil refinery	__________ Will run out Increases Carbon __________ in atmosphere