GCSE SCIENCE CHEMISTRY HIGH SCHOOL - Ethanol - Uses - Biofuel - Gasohol - Combustion - Brazil

gcsescience.com 43 gcsescience.com

Ethanol - Uses.

Ethanol is present in alcoholic drinks
and is also used as a fuel and as a solvent.

Complete Combustion of Ethanol.
Compare this reaction with the combustion of alkanes.

ethanol + oxygen carbon dioxide + water + energy
C₂H₅OH_(l) + 3O_2(g) 2CO_2(g) + 3H₂O_(l)

Ethanol can be used as the fuel in cars, called biofuel.
Car engines can be specially designed to burn only ethanol.
It is the common fuel in Brazil where plentiful sugar cane
provides a renewable resource for fermentation
and lack of oil resources means that imported oil for fuel is expensive.

Up to 30% ethanol can be blended with petrol (called gasohol)
and used in ordinary car engines to reduce the use of fossil fuels.

Industrial Methylated Spirits (IMS) is mainly ethanol.
Other chemicals (including methanol) have been added
making industrial methylated spirits poisonous to drink.
IMS is used in industry as a solvent
and in domestic burners for heating and cooking.

Ethanol is a common solvent for perfumes,
and is the solvent in "tincture of iodine".

Headings Ethanol Search Questions

gcsescience.com Contents The Periodic Table Index Quizzes gcsescience.com