Ethanol has the possibility of being used as an alternative fuel source. Produced from the fermentation of glucose, the monomer of cellulose, the equation is CH3CH2OH. Combustion of ethanol can be seen as:
C2H5OH + 7/2O2 -> 2CO2 + 3H2O
Ethanol burns with approximately 2/3 the effectiveness of petrol per gram. It has oxygen in the molecule, however, and is hence seen to burn more "cleanly" (requiring less oxygen from the external environment). In addition, the CO2 released is the CO2 absorbed by the plant in photosynthesis and can therefore be seen to be "carbon neutral" and environmentally friendly.
Currently, ethanol-petrol blends of up to 10% ethanol are being sold in petrol stations around the world. No alterations are required for motors to run with this percentage of ethanol in the blend. In addition, in Brazil there are 8 million cars that run on pure ethanol. This represents that it may be a viable alternative.
There are, however, large issues with the use of ethanol as a fuel. We have no energy efficient method of "cracking" cellulose into glucose, large amounts of energy are required to ferment the ethanol from glucose, and large amounts of land would have to be devoted to the production of ethanol, leading to deforestation and land clearing. In addition, to run on >10% ethanol, changes have to be made to the designs of engines, and the removal of volatile organic compounds from ethanol that would pose problems to engines and emissions is a costly process.
The fact that ethanol is a renewable resource will lead to further research into the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel as supplies of non-renewable fossil fuels grow smaller. More research and development, however, needs to occur before it is a viable alternative fuel source.
Outline the risks associated with the addition/substitution of bromine water to hydrocarbons practical.