Combustion happens when a fuel reacts with oxygen. Depending on how much oxygen is available, fuels can combust completely or incompletely. Complete combustion happens when there is excess oxygen available to the fuel. Complete combustion of hydrocarbons produces water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Incomplete combustion happens when there is limited oxygen. The incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons produces water (H2O), small amounts of Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Carbon/Soot (C). The shorter the carbon chain length of the hydrocarbon, the more likely it is to undergo a complete combustion.
Ethanol undergoes a complete combustion with plenty of excess oxygen, this is because it has a very low carbon chain length therefore …show more content…
The formula for complete combustion of Ethanol is C2H5OH + 3O2 → 2CO2 + 3H2O.
Octane is more likely to endure a incomplete combustion with limited oxygen, this is because it has a higher carbon chain length and as the carbon chain length increases, so does the melting and boiling point of the hydrocarbon. Therefore more energy is needed to break the bonds apart and turn the atoms into a gas. When Octane combusts incompletely the formula is 2C8H18 + 17O2 → 16CO + 18H2.
Complete combustion products have many negative effects on the environment including global warming, ocean acidification and acid rain. Global warming is the rise of the earth's average temperature caused by the greenhouse gases. The drilling and production methods used to make fossil fuels, the clearing of forest and the burning of fossil fuels all release huge amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere and because there is no longer any trees to take in some of the CO2 released by the combustion of fossil fuels, the CO2 gets trapped in the atmosphere. When the greenhouses gases get trapped in the atmosphere they form a cluster and trap the heat in from the sun, …show more content…
If Ethanol was to replace Octane to go in car engines only minor modifications will need to be made, which is convenient. Ethanol is considered renewable as it will only take a couple of years to re-grow the crops that produce Ethanol, compared to the millions of years that it takes to make fossil fuels, but because Ethanol is produced by crops such as corn, grass or algae there is then less for humans and animals which could then effectively result in starvation. The production of biofuels could result in starvation as there will no longer be enough food for people and animals to eat as more of it is being used for biofuels. It could also result in price inflation due to supply and demand because there will be less amounts of crops for people to buy, this makes it harder for already struggling families. The crops needed to make biofuels also take up valuable land and water supply which is crucial for humans and animals to live, as if there is more and more land taken up by biofuel crops there is no longer any land for humans and animals to live. There will also have to be an act of deforestation in the process of producing biofuels as a lot of land is needed to grow these crops, this will negatively impact the environment as it will result in the loss of many habitats for many birds and
Ethanol undergoes a complete combustion with plenty of excess oxygen, this is because it has a very low carbon chain length therefore …show more content…
The formula for complete combustion of Ethanol is C2H5OH + 3O2 → 2CO2 + 3H2O.
Octane is more likely to endure a incomplete combustion with limited oxygen, this is because it has a higher carbon chain length and as the carbon chain length increases, so does the melting and boiling point of the hydrocarbon. Therefore more energy is needed to break the bonds apart and turn the atoms into a gas. When Octane combusts incompletely the formula is 2C8H18 + 17O2 → 16CO + 18H2.
Complete combustion products have many negative effects on the environment including global warming, ocean acidification and acid rain. Global warming is the rise of the earth's average temperature caused by the greenhouse gases. The drilling and production methods used to make fossil fuels, the clearing of forest and the burning of fossil fuels all release huge amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere and because there is no longer any trees to take in some of the CO2 released by the combustion of fossil fuels, the CO2 gets trapped in the atmosphere. When the greenhouses gases get trapped in the atmosphere they form a cluster and trap the heat in from the sun, …show more content…
If Ethanol was to replace Octane to go in car engines only minor modifications will need to be made, which is convenient. Ethanol is considered renewable as it will only take a couple of years to re-grow the crops that produce Ethanol, compared to the millions of years that it takes to make fossil fuels, but because Ethanol is produced by crops such as corn, grass or algae there is then less for humans and animals which could then effectively result in starvation. The production of biofuels could result in starvation as there will no longer be enough food for people and animals to eat as more of it is being used for biofuels. It could also result in price inflation due to supply and demand because there will be less amounts of crops for people to buy, this makes it harder for already struggling families. The crops needed to make biofuels also take up valuable land and water supply which is crucial for humans and animals to live, as if there is more and more land taken up by biofuel crops there is no longer any land for humans and animals to live. There will also have to be an act of deforestation in the process of producing biofuels as a lot of land is needed to grow these crops, this will negatively impact the environment as it will result in the loss of many habitats for many birds and