Fermentation vs Hydration of Ethene
Chemistry: Cambridge International GCSE Supplement, topic 11.6.5
Fermentation vs Hydration of Ethene
You need to be able to compare the processes of fermentation and the hydration of ethene for producing ethanol.
Fermentation
- Advantages:
- Not much energy is used (generally) as the process happens at 37°C.
- Produces bioethanol and is therefore a sustainable production method (renewable resource).
- Disadvantages:
- The process is in batch.
- The process is slow.
- If pure ethanol is needed, the separation of the low quantities of ethanol produced from the water by distillation is expensive and takes time.
Hydration of ethene
- Advantages:
- Continuous process.
- Few workers needed.
- Fast process.
- The ethanol produced is pure.
- Disadvantages:
- Uses ethene, which is a non-renewable resource.
- A lot of energy is used as the temperature used is 300°C. This makes the process expensive.
Test yourself on Fermentation vs Hydration of Ethene
Which of these applies to using fermentation to produce ethanol?