Ethanol can be produced by reacting ethene with steam - Edexcel - GCSE Chemistry - Question 3 - 2013 - Paper 1

Ethanol can be produced from sugar through fermentation by following these steps:

1. Dissolve Sugar: First, dissolve sugar in water to create a sugar solution.
2. Add Yeast: Add yeast to the sugar solution. Yeast is responsible for the fermentation process.
3. Warm Environment: Maintain the temperature between 15°C to 40°C for optimal fermentation.
4. Anaerobic Conditions: Ensure that the fermentation occurs in anaerobic conditions, meaning little or no air or oxygen should be present.
5. Fermentation Process: Allow the mixture to ferment for several days to convert the sugar into ethanol.

This country produces ethanol through fermentation instead of from ethene due to several reasons:

1. Sufficient Raw Materials: The country has large amounts of fertile land which can be used to grow specific crops, such as sugarcane or corn, that can be fermented to produce ethanol.
2. Economic Factors: As a less wealthy country, it lacks access to crude oil or the infrastructure required for fractional distillation to obtain ethene, making fermentation a more accessible alternative.
3. Sustainability: Fermentation is considered more environmentally friendly as it utilizes renewable resources, unlike the non-renewable nature of crude oil-derived ethene.

Methanol (CH₃OH), ethanol (C₂H₅OH), and propanol (C₃H₇OH) are members of the same homologous series of alcohols because:

1. Similar Functional Group: All three compounds contain the hydroxyl (-OH) functional group, which is characteristic of alcohols.
2. General Formula: They follow a general formula of CₙH₂ₙ₊₁OH, where n represents the number of carbon atoms.
3. Gradual Change: Each successive member of this series differs by a CH₂ group, indicating a consistent pattern in molecular structure.