Skip to content

Course home

Alcohols

Alcohols

Medium
123456789101112131415
Question 14

Ethanol can be manufactured by two main processes: the fermentation of glucose and the hydration of ethene. Additionally, ethene can be produced from ethanol in a separate reaction.

a.
  1. Glucose is converted to ethanol and carbon dioxide using yeast.

    • State the name of the biological catalyst (enzyme) present in yeast that facilitates this reaction.

    • Complete the chemical equation for this fermentation process:

      C6H12O6→2C2H5OH+‾ \text{C}_6\text{H}_{12}\text{O}_6 \rightarrow 2\text{C}_2\text{H}_5\text{OH} + \underline{\quad\quad\quad\quad} C6​H12​O6​→2C2​H5​OH+​
[2]
b.

The industrial conditions for the hydration of ethene to produce ethanol are highly regulated.

  1. State the catalyst and typical temperature range used to react ethene with steam.
  2. What type of reaction is this?
[3]
c.
  1. State two advantages of manufacturing ethanol by the hydration of ethene rather than by fermentation.
  2. Give one reason why some countries prefer to use fermentation to produce ethanol.
[3]
d.

Ethanol can also be converted back into ethene when passed over a hot catalyst such as aluminium oxide.

  1. Write a balanced chemical equation for this reaction.
  2. State the reaction type for this conversion.
[2]
Markscheme

Alcohols Questions

  1. IGCSE
  2. /Chemistry
  3. /Alcohols

15 exam-style questions on Edexcel IGCSE Chemistry Alcohols. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.

Question bank