Ethanol as a Fuel Source

Year 12 Chemistry sound judgement Task 1 fermentation alcohol as an alternative dismiss genus Melissa Weber 22/11/2010 Overview The commercial production of ethanol arouse in Australia is the habituate of booty reproof and wheat using barm in the fermentation answer. Yeast is a fungus which can multiply in the absence of type O by using enzymes (e. g. zymase) to catalyse the decomposition of sugars. Those sugars be sucrose or maltose. Suitable conditions The conditions that promote the fermentation of sugar argon * A suitable micro-organism such as barm * Water * A suitable temperature for the fermenting yeast Low oxygen concentrations favouring the fermenting yeast * A small amount of yeast nutrients such as inorganic phosphate salt. * Once the ethanol concentration reaches 14-15% by slew, the yeast can non survive, and the fermentation process stops. Costs Biomass provokes such as rice straw and sugar lash bagasse ar cosmos investigated as raw materials for eth anol production save the transportation costs ar very high and do non justify their aim. Genetically modified crops atomic number 18 being analysed and this could provide a cheap source of biomass fuels for the production of ethanol.Production from Sugar Cane Sucrose extracted from sugar cane accounts for little more than 30% of the chemical vim stored in the acquire plant 35% is in the leaves and stem tips, which are left-hand(a) in the fields during harvest, and 35% are in the fibrous material (bagasse) left over from pressing. Most of the industrial processing of sugarcane in brazil nut is d one through a very integrated production chain, allowing sugar production, industrial ethanol processing, and electricity generation from by-products.The typical steps for en lifesized scale production of sugar and ethanol include milling, electricity generation, fermentation, distillate of ethanol, and dehydration. Replacement for distillation With increasing attention being paid to pitch vigour, many methods have been proposed that avoid distillation altogether for dehydration. Of these methods, a 3rd method has emerged and has been adopted by the majority of modern ethanol plants. This impertinent process uses molecular classs to remove water from fuel ethanol.In this process, ethanol vapour under pressure passes through a bed of molecular sieve beads. The beads pores are sized to allow absorption of water epoch excluding ethanol. later on a period of time, the bed is regenerated under vacuum or in the flow of inert atmosphere to remove the absorbed water. Two beds are use so that one is on hand(predicate) to absorb water while the other is being regenerated. This dehydration technology can account for energy saving of 3,000 btus/gallon (840 kJ/l) compared to earlier azeotropic distillation. .Diagrams DISTILLATION STRUCTURE FORMULAC6H12O6 gt 2CO2 + 2C2H5OH (ethanol) 180. 00g gt 88. 00g + 92. 00g Ethanol vs. give notice Arguments for ethanol as a fu el Arguments against ethanol as a fuel It is a clean and efficient use of energy. It is much safer and then petrol (Ethanol is biodegradable without wounding effects on the environment) and ordain greatly avoid the spread of pollution. Seeing that it is not a fossil-fuel, manufacturing it and burning it does not increase the greenhouse effect. Ethanol can reduce net carbon dioxide emissions by up to 100% on a full life-cycle basis. high-ranking ethanol blends can reduce emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) by 30% or more (VOCs are major sources of ground-level ozone formation) * High-level ethanol blends reduce nitrogen oxide emissions Ethanol is clean but it only arrive ats two-thirds the energy of octane, because more is needed It is a much healthier alternative for large number * Sulphur dioxide and Particulate Matter (PM) emissions are significantly decreased with ethanol. As an octane enhancer, ethanol can cut emissions of cancer-causing benzene and butadiene by more than 50% * It provides high octane at low cost as an alternative to harmful fuel analogues. * Ethanol can be used as an additive instead of lead which is a toxic pollutant in major cities. It leave alone significantly reduces harmful exhaust emissions meaning more healthy in urban areas The increased need for land clearing for crops (sugar cane) has led to great problems of soil erosion, salination and the over use of water resources e. . Brazil It is renewable and comparatively cheap to produce, whereas oil supplies are limited to perhaps 50-60 years cover reserves are depleting but new reserves are being found with sophisticated techniques Addition of ethanol to petrol reduces the amount of oxygen in combustion and reduces the emission of carbon. Ethanol blends can be used in all petrol railway locomotives without modifications The cost of producing ethanol in 2008 was twice the cost of petrol.Australia has a 10% blend which is competitive at the molybdenum Ethanol c an be produced anywhere in the world (Brazil, Tanzania, Australia) and will reduce the monopoly of Arab nations. As it is easily accessible for each country the encumbrance and hazards in transporting will be reduced 80% of the worlds transport is interdependent on fossil fuels. Changing to an ethanol base will be an economic nightmare Current use of ethanol Continent % of energy needs supplied by biomass Continent % of energy needs supplied by biomass Australia 5% Oceania 35%Africa 55% North the States 4% southmost America 26% Europe 2-3% Asia 38% former USSR 3% Sydney buses have trialled the use of Diesohol. Diesohol is a mixture of 10-15% ethanol in diesel fuel it has been do possible by the development of a process which emulsifies the ethanol in the diesel. Using Diesohol reduces smoke, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides in the vehicles exhaust. Up to well-nigh 10% ethanol can be added to petrol without requiring any alteration in car railway locomotives. Cars can run on 100% ethanol, but this requires locomotive engine modification.Ethanol does not release as much energy per gram as hydrocarbons do on burning. However, ethanol does reduce pollutants in vehicle exhaust. This is specially advantageous when using Diesohol in trucks and buses in large polluted cities. The use of ethanol as a fuel is neutral as out-of-the-way(prenominal) as releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. When ethanol is burned, it produces carbon dioxide, however, this carbon dioxide is interpreted out of the atmosphere by development plants to produce more ethanol.If crops are grown specifically to produce ethanol by fermentation, very large areas of land would be required. It has been estimated that if Australia used all its cereal and sugar crops to produce ethanol, this would still only provide enough fuel to replace about 10% of its current petroleum use. Obviously, this amount of land could not be devoted to the production of transport fuel rather than food. Howe ver, it may be that in the future, with improvements in fermentation technology, plant waste material could be used to produce ethanol.It may be that there are discontinue ways to harness energy from the sun than by growing plants which are then fermented to produce ethanol. Combustion of ethanol only releases about one third of the energy from sunlight which was originally trapped by, for example, sugar cane plants. Ethanol is still much more expensive to produce than petrol. The expenses confused in the production of ethanol include the effort put into growing the plant material, transporting plant material to processing plants and the energy required to come apart the ethanol from the fermentation mixture by distillation.Ethanol consumption in an engine is approximately 51% higher than for gasoline since the energy per unit volume of ethanol is 34% lower than for gasoline. However, the higher compression ratios in an ethanol-only engine allow for increased power output and bet ter fuel scrimping than could be obtained with lower compression ratios Cost of ethanol in Australia tax * Domestically produced fuel ethanol is currently effectively exempt from attain tax until July 1, 2011 (an grave of 38. 43 cents per litre is payable on petrol). From this date, excise will be increased at 2. 5 cents per litre yearly until it reaches 12. 5 cents per litre in 2015 giving medication Support * Federal Government support for fuel ethanol includes a voluntary industry biofuels locate (encompassing ethanol, biodiesel, and other biofuels) of 350 million litres per annum by 2010, capital grants to current and prospective producers, fuel excise relief, and an effective tariff on imported ethanol until July 1, 2011. In 2006, the Premiers of both New South Wales and Queensland proposed mandating the blending of ethanol into petrol. Marketing * E10 is available through service stations operating under the BP, Caltex, Shell and unify brands as well as those of a numb er of smaller independents. E10 is close widely available closer to the sources of production in Queensland and New South Wales. E10 is most commonly blended with 91 RON regular unleaded fuel.BibliographyBiofuel in Australia. (2010, 11 20). Retrieved 11 22, 2010, from Wikipedia http//en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel_in_Australia Catalyst Teaching Resouces. (2001).Investigating ethanol as a fuel , 1-5. Ethanol from glucose (2010, http//hsconline. nsw. edu. au/). Motion Picture. Ethanol from sugar (2010, http//hsconline. nsw. edu. au/). Motion Picture. Ethanol can. (n. d. ). Retrieved 11 21, 2010, from Journey to forever http//journeytoforever. org/ethanol. htmlEthanol Fuel. (2010, 11 10). Retrieved 11 22, 2010, from Wikipedia http//en. wikipedia. rg/wiki/Ethanol_fuel_in Ethanol fuel in Brazil. (2010, 10 31). Retrieved 11 18, 2010, from Wikipedia http//en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel_in_Brazil MONCEAUX, P. M. (2008, 08 28).Fuel ethanol production. Retrieved 11 17, 2010, fro m bioethanol http//www. bioethanol. ru/images/bioethanol/Fuel%20ethanol%20production%20-%20Katzen. pdf