The link between the number of carbon atoms in a fuel with the amount of energy it releases
explanatory Essay
2717 words
The link between the number of carbon atoms in a fuel with the amount of energy it releases
Alcohols generally belong to compounds whose molecules are based on chains of carbon atoms. They usually contain one oxygen atom, which is joined to a carbon atom by a singular bond. This makes them different to other compounds. The oxygen atom is joined to the hydrogen atom as well as the carbon atom, which makes the oxygen a part of a hydroxyl group. These atoms are generally a part of a hydrocarbon chain. These alcohols can take away water from the body, in which a hydrocarbon chain has replaced a hydrogen atom. Alcohols have a general structure of CnH2n+1OH
The aim of this investigation is to see the link between the numbers of carbon atom in a fuel with the amount of energy it releases. There would be a change in the amount of energy given off that is getting greater, the more carbon atoms in the fuel, the more there are more bonds to be broken and formed, thus producing more energy. ‘In a chemical reaction, bonds in the reactant molecule are broken and new ones are formed. Atoms are rearranged. Energy has to be put in to break bonds, and energy is given out when bonds are formed.’ When the total energy put in is greater than the energy put out, the substance cools down (it is endothermic). This is expressed as Δ +ve (delta positive). If the total energy put in is less than the energy created, then the substance warms up (it is exothermic). This is expressed as Δ
-ve (delta negative).
I will investigate eight different alcohols using an alcohol or spirit burner, to measure the energy change during burning them by measuring the change in temperature of some water held by a container. This container must have a value of specific heat capacity so I could calculate heat transferred to it as well. Probably the most conductive container available for use in the classroom is a calorimeter. As well as not wasting energy in the heating of the container, I could also try to stop heat from escaping the top and edges of the container by covering it with a fitting lid. I will try to prevent the wind from blowing the flames to a different direction so all the windows must be shut. HYPOTHESIS
More energy is released as more bonds are formed, below is the list of approximate energy required to break and form all bond involved in burning alcohols
TYPE OF BOND ENERGY REQUIRED TO BREAK THE BOND (j)
In this essay, the author
- Explains the link between the number of carbon atoms in a fuel and the amount of energy it releases.
- Explains that ethanol has five c-h bonds, one o-b bond, and one e-c bond.
- Explains that butan-1-ol has nine c-h bonds, 3c-c bond, one o-b bond and one h-o bond.
- Explains that hexan-1-ol has 13 c-h bonds, 5c-c bonds and one o-h bond.
- Explains that heptan-1-ol has 15 c-h bonds, 6c-c bonds and one o-h bond.
- Explains that octan-1-ol has 17 c-h bonds, 7c-c bonds and one o-h bond.
- Opines that a fair test can only occur when all variables are the same.
- Explains that if it is not, the flame may have more surface area of where to heat.
- Proposes that the calorimeter be wiped out so it wouldn't add to the loss of heat of the body.
- Opines that it is being burnt five bonds has to be broken but this is not the same
- Explains that the flame size changed due to the type of alcohol; hence, it was a summary.
- Explains that the best way to carry out this experiment is to use a bomb.
- Opines that their experiment has gone very well.
Related
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- Effects of Carbon Dioxidecomparative essayCarbon dioxide is a gas at standard temperature and pressure.It is a crucial trace gas consisting of 397 ppm of the atmosphere on a molar basis (Petty 2004).There are many sources of production of carbon dioxide.For example, combustion of coals or hydrocarbons,from volcanic eruptions and places where carbonate rocks are located in the thin Earth’s crust.Other sources are the deep seas, commingled with oil and gas deposits.Large amounts of CO2 are released from electricity generation and industrial processes.Coal and natural gas fueled electricity generation in 2011 accounted for 80% and 19% of CO2 emissions in the U.S. electricity sector.Concentration of CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere rapidly increased in the 21st century,at a rate of 2.0ppm/year during 2000-2009.It was 280ppm during the Industrial Revolution and has increased to 392 ppm in 2013.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that carbon capture and storage involves three processes: capturing, transporting, and storing of co2.
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- Concludes that ccs is a reliable method to reduce co2 emissions, but it needs to be supported well.
- Explains that carbon dioxide is a crucial trace gas consisting of 397 ppm of the atmosphere.
- Explains the benefits of carbon capture and storage in the uk.
1072 wordsRead More - Research question Does changing the length of the carbon chain effect the heat of combustion of water when heated for 2 minutes? If so, which fuel reaches the highest temperature during that time? Aim To investigate the relationship between three different alkanols in terms of their carbon chain length, rate of increased temperature, and heat of combustion, in order to determine which is the most efficient at heating water to a certain temperature whilst reducing time and effects on the environment. Hypothesis
In this essay, the author
- Asks whether changing the length of the carbon chain affects the heat of combustion of water when heated for 2 minutes.
- Analyzes the relationship between three different alkanols in terms of their carbon chain length, rate of increased temperature, and heat of combustion, in order to determine which is the most efficient at heating water to a certain temperature while reducing time and effects on the environment.
- Explains that if the length of the carbon chain within an alkanol is increased, the heat of combustion will increase due to a greater amount of intermolecular forces between molecules.
- Explains that camp cooking differs dramatically from traditional kitchen cooking, where a pressurized gas component is ignited and combined with oxygen to form heat used to cook food.
- Explains that there are multiple types of hydrocarbons, which are predominantly made up of covalent bonds consisting of carbon and hydrogen atoms.
- Explains that alkanols (or alcohols) have the same molecular structure as an alcane except that a hydroxyl group replaces one of the hydrogen atoms by intramolecular bonding.
1078 wordsRead More - I am going to investigate the difference in enthalpy of combustion for a number of alcohols, the enthalpy of combustion being the 'enthalpy change when one mole of any substance is completely burnt in oxygen under the stated conditions'. I will be attempting to find how the number of carbon atoms the alcohol contains effects the enthalpy change that occurs during the combustion of the alcohol.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that they will investigate the difference in enthalpy of combustion for a number of alcohols.
- Explains that they plan to measure the enthalpy change by burning alcohol, using a spirit burner, and then use the heat produced during the combustion of the alcohol to heat 100ml of water.
- Explains that during the experiment, they will take a number of measurements, such as the initial temperature of the water and initial mass of alcohol. they will then burn the alcohol until an increase in temperature has occurred.
- Explains that they will need to repeat their experiment a number of times and take an average so they are sure of an accurate result.
- Explains that the calorimeter is held directly above the spirit burner by a retort stand and clamp, and the mercury thermometer, which is very accurate, will be used to measure the water temperature.
- Predicts that alcohols with a greater number of carbon atoms within the molecule will have higher enthalpy of combustion than those with less. bond breaking requires energy while bond making releases energy.
- Explains the balanced equation for the combustion of methanol. the type and number of bonds within each mole of reactants and products are shown.
- Explains that the total energy required to break the bonds in the reactants is 2807.5 dh/kj mol-1, and the difference between them and products is 524.5
- Explains that the energy released by the alcohol is only an approximation for the combustion of methanol because the bond enthalpies vary slightly from one molecule to another.
- Describes the alcohols that they plan to use in their investigation, including methanol, ethanol and propanol.
- Explains that methanol ch3ho + 1.5o2 (g) co2 + 2h2o (l)3 c__h 413 1,5o=o 497
- Explains that the bond enthalpies worked out above clearly show an increase in the overall energy that is released as the alcohols increased in size.
- Compares the enthalpy of combustion (dhc) of different alcohols.
- Explains that they are going to use propan-1-ol and butan-l as representatives of the two alcohols. they are large enough molecules to form isomers and have the closest structural arrangement.
- Explains that they need to use alcohols with as similar structure as possible, with the only difference being the number of carbon atoms within the molecule.
- Explains that alcohols are flammable, so they need to be handled with care, avoiding spillages, and kept in a suitable container.
- Explains that their experiment is safe as long as it is carried out sensibly taking heed of the general laboratory rules.
- Explains that alcohol initial temperature +/- (oc) finaltemperature (g) methanol 21 43 22 213.18 212.06 1.1221
- Explains that the bottom of the calorimeter had a black sooty type substance on it, which was affecting their results for butan-1-ol.
- Explains that the smaller alcohol's needed less energy to break the bonds in the reactants and so more energy is needed to initiate the reaction.
- Explains that carbon is a better insulator than copper, as it has lower thermal conductivity value and stops heat getting through to heat the water as there should be.
- Explains that their results show a clear increase in the energy released per unit mass of alcohol. they need to find which alcohol releases the most energy per mole.
- Explains that energy mass x temp increase depends on the substance you are heating, it is called the specific heat capacity.
- Explains that the mass of water heated, 100g, is the heat energy exchanged during the experiment, which needs to be converted to heat taken in per mole of alcohol burned.
- Explains that the heat absorbed by the calorimeter can be worked out.
- Explains that the two values worked out above for the energy absorbed by the water and the calorimeter give the total.
- Explains the average enthalpy of combustion for the alcohols in the table.
- Compares their results to the bond enthalpy values that they had worked out earlier.
- Explains that it is possible to measure the exact enthalpy of combustion using a bomb calorimeter apparatus. heat losses can be eliminated if the thermo chemical investigation is coupled with an electrical calibration.
- Compares the values of the enthalpy of combustion given by the bomb calorimeter to their results.
- Explains that methanol was the least accurate at 38.9% of what it should have been and propon-1-ol at 49.5%.
- Opines that their results have been consistently accurate, with the gap between the most accurate and the least accurate being only 10%. this gives them the impression that they are not just wrong because of human error.
- Explains that the enthalpy's of combustion that they are comparing their results to were measured under different conditions so this means they would be different any way.
- Explains that heat produced in the experiment was aloud to escape before it had even entered the apparatus and even heat that got into the water could escape back out of the calorimeter.
- Explains that they redid the experiments now using the insulation material, attaching it to the sides of the calorimeter. the results were an improvement on the previous attempt.
- Explains that their results show a clear increase of around 9% although this does vary from alcohol to alcohol. the heat produced does not even enter the apparatus, it is aloud to escape immediately.
- Opines that the accuracy of their experiment could have been improved by using a bomb calorimeter, which was not available to them.
- Compares the enthalpy of combustion from the bomb calorimeter to the results that they got from their experiments. the only thing that could have been improved was to measure all the heat energy that had been released by the combustion of the alcohols.
- Opines that lining the reflector with silver/ shiny surface would keep more of the heat produced during combustion close to the calorimeter so more is absorbed.
- Opines that there are other aspects of the enthalpy of combustion of alcohols that they could have investigated.
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In this essay, the author
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In this essay, the author
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In this essay, the author
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In this essay, the author
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1172 wordsRead More