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IC.29.3 Alcohol as fuel Alcohol as fuel © Oxford University Press 2011 IC.29.3 Alcohol as fuel If you refuel your car in Brazil, you won’t be adding just petrol to your tank. Brazilian car fuel is a mixture of petrol and ethanol It may even be a mix of 95% ethanol with 5% water. In Brazil, ethanol is made by fermenting sugar cane. © Oxford University Press 2011 IC.29.3 Alcohol as fuel Drag racers often fuel their cars with methanol. © Oxford University Press 2011 IC.29.3 Alcohol as fuel At Christmas it is a tradition to pour brandy over the pudding and set it alight. The alcohol in brandy burns with a blue flame. © Oxford University Press 2011 IC.29.3 Alcohol as fuel Alcohols burn in air to make carbon dioxide and water. For example: ethanol + oxygen carbon dioxide + water CH3CH2OH(l) + 3O2(g) 2CO2(g) + 3H2O(g) © Oxford University Press 2011 IC.29.3 Alcohol as fuel There are advantages and disadvantages of using ethanol as a vehicle fuel instead of fossil fuels such as petrol and diesel. © Oxford University Press 2011 IC.29.3 Alcohol as fuel Advantages: • Made from a renewable resource, e.g. sugar cane or maize. • The plants from which the fuel is made remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow. • Some people say this means that ethanol fuel is carbon neutral – the plants remove the same amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as burning the fuel later puts into the atmosphere. © Oxford University Press 2011 IC.29.3 Alcohol as fuel Disadvantages: • Crops used to make ethanol are grown on land that could be used to grow food. • Ethanol produces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, as it burns. • Carbon dioxide is also added to the atmosphere as a result of making fertilisers for the crops, and during the manufacture of ethanol from the crops. • Some people say this means ethanol fuel is not carbon neutral. © Oxford University Press 2011 IC.29.3 Alcohol as fuel 1. What is the word equation for the combustion reaction of propanol? propanol + oxygen carbon dioxide + water © Oxford University Press 2011 IC.29.3 Alcohol as fuel 2. Why is it important to develop alternatives to fossil fuels? Do you think ethanol makes a good fuel? Fossil fuels are a finite resource – one day, they will run out. © Oxford University Press 2011 IC.29.3 Alcohol as fuel 3. Do you think ethanol makes a good fuel? Discuss this with a partner or in your group. © Oxford University Press 2011