Essay Example on the Physical & Chemical Characteristics of Ethanol

Introduction

Ethanol is a chemical, organic compound with both physical and chemical characteristics. Some of the physical characteristics of this compound are that it is clear and colourless with a boiling point of 780C, and has a slightly higher refractive index of 1.36 as compared with water with 1.33. One of the main chemical features of this organic compound is that the hydrogen atom in the aliphatic carbon atom in the structure is replaced with an alkyl group. Moreover, the latter organic compound is a polar solvent with two charged ends. Other main features concerning Ethanol are discussed in the subsections below:

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Structure and Reactivity of Ethanol

All alcohols have an overall chemical formula as CxH2x+1OH where x represents the number of carbon atoms in the compound. The chemical structure of Ethanol is made up of two polar molecules, such as the hydroxyl end and the ethyl group. Its chemical structure is composed of two carbon atoms attached to an OH group, as shown in this structure CH3-CH2-OH (Park, Sunghoon, et al. 8143). The methyl group of the compound is covalently bonded to the methylene group with two hydrogen atoms attached to it. The structure is then bonded to the hydroxyl group through a strong covalent and hydrogen bond.

Ethanol reacts with group I and group II metals to form metal ethoxides with the evolution of hydrogen gas.

Ethanol + Sodium metal Sodium Ehoxide + Hydrogen gas

C2H5OH (l) + Na (s) C2H5O Na (l) + H2 (g)

The conjugate part of sodium ethoxide compound formed from the chemical reaction is strong in the weak acid hence increasing the basicity of the solution (Silvester, Lishil, et al. 2998). Moreover, the oxidation process of this compound results in the formation of carboxylic acids.

Ethanoic acid is formed from the oxidation reaction of Ethanol with potassium permanganate as the main oxidizing agent at a temperature of 1000C.

KMnO4 & 1000C

C2H5OH (l) CH3COOH

Commercial Production or Synthesis of Ethanol

Commercial synthesis or manufacturing of Ethanol is achieved through two approaches where one is done through steaming of ethane gas, and another one is obtained from bagasse. Production ethanol through the steaming process involves the passing of the ethane gas through a jet of steam where a chemical reaction occurs to form the final target product through the following chemical reaction.

H2O (g) & 1000 C

C2H5 (l) CH3CH2OH (l)

The reaction process is done through a reactive fitted with catalytic components such as silicon (IV) Oxide, which increases the conversion of ethene to Ethanol in each of the chambers in the catalytic reactor (Gong, Jinlong, et al. 13924). The catalyst if coated with phosphoric (V) acid to prevent it from being eaten off by the reacting components and also to increase the surface area for chemical kinetic reactions.

Significant uses of Ethanol

Ethanol has a wide variety of uses both in large and small scale for domestic and industrial purposes. Some of the significant uses of Ethanol include: use as preservative mainly in biological fields for preserving the specimens for study. Due to its chemical nature, it does not allow pathogenic attack or decomposition of the items being preserved.

It is also used as the main solvent in the synthesis of perfumes and varnishes. It acts as the most appropriate solvent due to its polar features, which supports the stickiness and concentration of the substances being manufactured (Silveira, Jose Luz, et al. 2527). Words varnishes need to possess a strong coating ability that makes it an admirable surface coating.

Ethanol is used as an additive in the manufacture of gasoline. Gasohol is the main derivative obtained from this alcohol, which increases the viscosity of the gasoline fuel and hence making it be more effective and efficient for use.

It is also used for disinfecting tinctures and other chemicals. An example of tinctures where Ethanol is highly applied is the iodine and tincture substances. The process is achieved through the preparation of tincture in a homogeneous solution of this alcohol type and water. Ethanol plays a major role in the process in acting as an antiseptic agent in the solution.

Conclusion and Summary Impacts of Ethanol in the Society

From various aspects attributed to Ethanol, it concludes, therefore, that it is a useful organic compound that has a wide variety of uses both domestically and industrially. Its synthesis involve simple chemical reactions with readily available types of catalysis which spends ups the rate of reactions. The reactors used in the commercial manufacture of operating at relatively achievable conditions that make the synthesis process highly adopted approach in the synthesis of Ethanol.

Ethanol has impacted positively to society due to its usefulness in the preservation of biological specimens, which enables generations to use such specimens for learning purposes without exhausting. It has also improved the efficiency of gasoline in the automobile industry since it is an additive during the fractional distillation process to obtain gasoline from other petroleum products.

It has also contributed significantly to the carpentry sector due to the manufacturing of the wood varnishes. Therefore the products of the sector improve in quality. Higher quality of such products increases the demand in the society hence improve the living standards of the people, both buyers, and sellers. Based on such significant contributions; therefore, it is clear that Ethanol has made positive impacts in society.

Works Cited

Gong, Jinlong, et al. "Synthesis of ethanol via syngas on Cu/SiO2 catalysts with balanced Cu0-Cu+ sites." Journal of the American Chemical Society 134.34 (2012): 13922-13925.

Park, Sunghoon, et al. "Synthesis, structure, and ethanol gas sensing properties of In2O3 nanorods decorated with Bi2O3 nanoparticles." ACS applied materials & interfaces 7.15 (2015): 8138-8146.

Silveira, Jose Luz, et al. "The benefits of ethanol use for hydrogen production in urban transportation." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13.9 (2009): 2525-2534.

Silvester, Lishil, et al. "Reactivity of ethanol over hydroxyapatite-based Ca-enriched catalysts with various carbonate contents." Catalysis Science & Technology 5.5 (2015): 2994-3006.