This required practical covers Production Methods for Ethanol within Alcohols for GCSE Chemistry. Revise Alcohols in Organic Chemistry for GCSE Chemistry with 20 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic appears less often, but it can still be a useful differentiator on mixed-topic papers. It is section 4 of 13 in this topic. Revise both the method and the reason for each step, because practical questions often test understanding rather than pure recall.
Topic position
Section 4 of 13
Practice
20 questions
Recall
15 flashcards
🏭 Production Methods for Ethanol
Method 1: Fermentation (The Ancient Way)
C₆H₁₂O₆(aq) → 2C₂H₅OH(aq) + 2CO₂(g)
glucose (with yeast) → ethanol + carbon dioxide
• Temperature: 25-35°C (room temperature)
• Yeast enzymes as biological catalyst
• Absence of oxygen (anaerobic)
• Takes days to weeks
Think of fermentation like a microscopic brewery where yeast are tiny workers. They eat sugar (glucose) and produce alcohol as waste — lucky for us! But they're living organisms, so they need the right temperature (not too hot or cold) and can't work if oxygen is around.
Method 2: Hydration of Ethene (The Industrial Way)
C₂H₄(g) + H₂O(g) → C₂H₅OH(l)
ethene + steam → ethanol
• Temperature: 300°C (high temperature)
• Pressure: 70 atmospheres
• Phosphoric acid catalyst
• Continuous process — minutes to complete