renewable ethylene (1 Viewer)

[Danger]

Is ethylene a renewable resource?

1. Ethanol + conc. sulfuric acid --> ethylene + water

2. ethanol can be produced from fermentation of glucose

glucose is a renewable resource therefore ethylene is also one?

 

[Forbidden.]

As long as the original source is sunlight ethylene is renewable.

Sunlight ----> Sugar cane --(Extraction)--> Glucose --(Fermentation)--> Ethanol --(Dehydration using a conc. H₂SO₄ catalyst)*--> Ethylene

* C₂H₅OH --(conc. H₂SO₄)--> C₂H₄ + H₂O

 

[Danger]

but I thought ethylene is also a non-renewable resource from the cracking of fractions from the refining of petroleum?

 

[undalay]

non renewable.

Ethylene can be produced, although not naturally. Thus: non-renewable

 

[BIGTYMA]

non renewable.

Ethylene can be produced, although not naturally. Thus: non-renewable

are you kidding me. ethylene is renewable as it can be form from ethanol.

 

[Muz4PM]

I thought that is why Ethanol was renewable, because the ethylene is able to be seperated then used in combustion. Is that correct?

 

[independantz]

Isn't it because sucrose, using sucrase to form cellulose which makes glucose using cellulase which is the fermented to procude ethanol using zymase which can then be dehydraded to form ethylene.

 

[Muz4PM]

We have a winner, I think. A process like that is described in my textbook, or something similar.

 

[Danger]

That's what I initially thought. So ethylene IS a renewable resource. Thanks

 

[undalay]

"A natural resource qualifies as a renewable resource if it is replenished by natural processes at a rate comparable to its rate of consumption by humans or other users"
- Wikipedia


"A renewable resource is one that is replaced, or can be replaced, at a rate greater than or equal to the rate at which it is comsumed. "
- HSC online


According to these definitions, ethene is not renewable.

Can anyone cite a reputable source that actually states ethene is/is not considered a renewable resource.


Also in the book A level chemistry by E. N. Ramsden， it states that ethanol is considered renewable if created from crops and nonrenewable if produced from ethene， suggesting that ethene is itself non-renewable。

 

[gcmk]

from what i know (i think?) producing ethanol by the hydration of ethylene is problematic, because ethylene it self is a non-renewable resource since it is produced from petroleum (which is a fossil fuel) isnt that the reason why ethlyene is non-renewable? please correct me if i'm wrong

 

[c.aitli.n]

i think the question is worded incorrectly. its not whether or not ethylene itself is a renewable resource it is whether or not its sources are renewable or not. industrial ethylene can be produced from both catalytic and thermal cracking of fractions of petroleum (which is a fossil fuel) or it can be produced from renewable resources as discussed earlier such as cellulose or glucose.

 

[xiao1985]

Renewability, to put simply, is if the material can be gathered, used, and then replenished by natural means.

Ethanol can be renewable, as it's primary use is for combustion, which produces carbondioxide and water, which are used by photosynthesis to become glucose/sucrose, which can then again be fermented to produce ethanol.

Ethylene's primary usage is to produce plastic (or at least that's what HSC chem is concerned about), and since plastic cannot, in the practical sense, be broken down back into carbodioxide or water or glucose, it cannot be considered as renewable.

Though it is true to say that one may obtain ethylene from a natural source from the argument put forward by OP.

 

[Forbidden.]

i think the question is worded incorrectly. its not whether or not ethylene itself is a renewable resource it is whether or not its sources are renewable or not. industrial ethylene can be produced from both catalytic and thermal cracking of fractions of petroleum (which is a fossil fuel) or it can be produced from renewable resources as discussed earlier such as cellulose or glucose.

As she said if the main source of ethylene is not renewable otherwise.

 

[Undermyskin]

Biologically, ethylene can be produced naturally via process of excreting it to help the fruit ripen. So actually the nature CAN produce ethylene tho it's not a major source. To some extent based on this fact, ethylene is ... renewable. (don't hit me!)

However, based on the proofs you supply, it's a non-renewable (I mean the natural process part) in some way. Is the renewability restricted to these sorts of processes? I don't remember it. Probably I mistake it to recyclability.

 

[xiao1985]

I won't hit you, but I'll have to disagree on the arguement that ethylene is renewable.

OK, fair enough. If the primary usage of ethylene is combustion, which produces carbondioxide and water as byproduct, which can then be reconverted back into glucose, and back to ethanol, and then back into ethylene, then yes, ethylene is renewable.

However, the primary usage of ethylene is in the production of plastics, which cannot be easily decomposed. As a result, we can theroetically "use up" all the glucose on Earth, and end up with loads of plastic.

Hence, ethylene is non-renewable,.