Ethanol as a Fuel Source

category 12 Chemistry Assessment Task 1 neutral spirits as an alternative give notice Melissa Weber 22/11/2010 Overview The mercenary exertion of ethyl alcohol dismiss in Australia is the single-valued function of sugar welt and wheat apply barm in the fermentation process. Yeast is a fungus which force out multiply in the absence of oxygen by using enzymes (e. g. zymase) to catalyse the decomposition of sugars. Those sugars ar sucrose or maltose. Suitable conditions The conditions that gain ground the fermentation of sugar argon * A suitable micro-organism such as yeast * Water * A suitable temperature for the fermenting yeast low oxygen concentrations favouring the fermenting yeast * A sm each make out of yeast nutrients such as phosphate salt. * Once the grain alcohol concentration reaches 14-15% by volume, the yeast cannot survive, and the fermentation process stops. bes Biomass give the axes such as sieve st rough and sugar cane bagasse are being investiga ted as raw materials for neutral spirits production scarcely the transportation follows are real high and do not justify their use. Genetically modified crops are being analysed and this could provide a cheap source of biomass fuels for the production of ethyl alcohol.Production from ice lolly Cane Sucrose extracted from sugarcane accounts for little more than than 30% of the chemical substance faculty stored in the mature dress 35% is in the leaves and stalk tips, which are left in the fields during harvest, and 35% are in the fibrous material (bagasse) left over from pressing. Most of the industrial process of sugarcane in Brazil is done through a very integrated production chain, allowing sugar production, industrial neutral spirits bear upon, and electricity propagation from by-products.The typical steps for large scale production of sugar and grain alcohol accommodate milling, electricity generation, fermentation, distillment of grain alcohol, and dehydration. R eplacement for distillation With increasing tutelage being paid to saving energy, many methods have been proposed that avoid distillation altogether for dehydration. Of these methods, a third method has emerged and has been adopted by the mass of modern ethanol plants. This mod process uses molecular sieves to need urine from fuel ethanol.In this process, ethanol vapour downstairs pressure passes through a bed of molecular sieve beads. The beads pores are sized to allow submersion of piss while excluding ethanol. After 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 used so that one is procurable 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 distillate STRUCTURE FORMULAC6H12O6 gt 2CO2 + 2C2H5OH (ethanol) 180. 00g gt 88. 00g + 92. 00g ferm entation alcohol vs. Fuel Arguments for ethanol as a fuel Arguments against ethanol as a fuel It is a clean and high-octane use of energy. It is untold safer then accelerator (Ethanol is biodegradable without harmful do on the environment) and will greatly undertake 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-level ethanol mingles can reduce emissions of quicksilver(a) Organic Compounds (VOCs) by 30% or more (VOCs are major(ip) sources of ground-level ozone formation) * High-level ethanol blends reduce nitrogen oxide emissions Ethanol is clean but it only produces two-thirds the energy of octane, hence more is needed It is a lots healthier alternative for people * Sulphur dioxide and Particulate Matter (PM) emissions are significantly decreased with ethanol. As an octane enhancer, ethanol can cut emissions of cancer-causing benzine and butadiene by more than 50% * It provides high octane at low monetary value as an alternative to harmful fuel additives. * Ethanol can be used as an additive instead of lead which is a deadly pollutant in major cities. It will significantly reduces harmful exhaust emissions intend more healthy in urban areas The increased need for drop clearing for crops (sugar cane) has led to huge problems of soil erosion, salination and the over use of water resources e. . Brazil It is renewable and relatively cheap to produce, whereas oil supplies are extra to perhaps 50-60 years Oil 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 engines without modifications The cost of producing ethanol in 2008 was twice the cost of petrol.Australia has a 10% blend which is com petitive at the moment Ethanol can be produced anyplace in the world (Brazil, Tanzania, Australia) and will reduce the monopoly of Arab nations. As it is easily tender for each country the difficulty and hazards in transporting will be lessen 80% of the worlds transport is dependent 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% South America 26% Europe 2-3% Asia 38% spring USSR 3% Sydney buses have trialled the use of Diesohol. Diesohol is a mixture of 10-15% ethanol in diesel fuel it has been made 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 about 10% ethanol can be added to petrol without requiring any alteration in car engines. Cars can run o n 100% ethanol, but this requires 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 particularly advantageous when using Diesohol in trucks and buses in large polluted cities. The use of ethanol as a fuel is neutral as far as releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. When ethanol is burned, it produces carbon dioxide, however, this carbon dioxide is taken out of the atmosphere by developing 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 sufficiency 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. However, 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 better ways to harness energy from the temperateness 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 sooner trapped by, for example, sugar cane plants. Ethanol is still much more expensive to produce than petrol. The expenses involved 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 separate the ethanol from the fermentation mixture by distillation.Ethanol consumption in an engine is approximately 51% high than for flatulency 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 takings and better fuel economy than could be obtained with lower compression ratios Cost of ethanol in Australia Taxation * Domestically produced fuel ethanol is currently effectively exempt from excise tax until July 1, 2011 (an excise of 38. 43 cents per cubic decimeter is payable on petrol). From this date, excise will be increased at 2. 5 cents per litre annually until it reaches 12. 5 cents per litre in 2015 disposal Support * Federal Government support for fuel ethanol includes a voluntary industry biofuels target (encompassing ethanol, biodiesel, and other biofuels) of 350 million litres per annum by 2010, great(p) 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 operational under the BP, Caltex, Shell and United brands as well as those of a number of smaller independe nts. E10 is most 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 principle 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 Fuel. (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, from bioethanol http//www. bioethanol. ru/images/bioethanol/Fuel%20ethanol%20production%20-%20Katzen. pdf