Home > GCSE > Chemistry > Aim: To decipher which of the first six alcohols is the best fuel.

Aim: To decipher which of the first six alcohols is the best fuel.

You can download this essay for free. All you need to do is register and submit at least one of your essays to us.

Downloads to date: N/A | Words: 2300 | Submitted: 2006-12-05

It is first necessary to discuss what exactly makes a good fuel. A good fuel can be best described as one that produces a lot of heat energy, whilst not using much of the fuel. Also, a good fuel should burn cleanly. This is of course important. However, it is difficult to measure how cleanly a fuel burns; therefore we will measure how much fuel is used to heat water to a certain temperature.
Now that we have decided what approach to take to the experiment, we will look at some equations that may help the prediction:

1) Methanol CH3OH + 11/2O2 CO2 + 2H2O

2) Ethanol C2H5OH + 3O2 2CO2 + 3H2O

3) Propanol C3H7OH + 41/2O2 3CO2 + 4H2O

4) Butanol C4H9OH + 6O2 4CO2 + 5H2O

5) Pentanol C5H11OH + 71/2O2 5CO2 + 6H2O

6) Hexanol C6H13OH + 9O2 6CO2 + 7H2O

Also, we know that the energy transfer reactions will play a vital part in predicting the results; therefore I will now work them out using the molecular structures and bond energies.
...

Download this essay in full now!

Just upload at one of your essays to our database and instantly download your selection! Registration takes seconds