Fuel: Organic Fuels and Biofuels

Running Head: FUEL
FUEL
Name
Institute of affiliation
Date

FUEL 2
Part A
Since industrial revolutions and mechanization, fuel has become one of the most
important tools for production of goods in industries throughout the world. However, the
prolonged use of fuel has led to destruction of the environment especially the ozone layer. This is
what has made experts and scholars to seek alternative sources of energy to replace the
petroleum products (Jääskeläinen, Alho, Escera, Winkler, Sillanaukee & Näätänen 2016).
However, it has proved to be almost impossible to totally do away with the petroleum products
since other sources hardly produces enough amount of power or the storage becomes a problem.
Organic fuels include the petroleum products such as the diesel, petrol, wood, paraffin, ethanol,
methane, ethanol, and heavy energy fuel that is used to run the ships.
Enquiry question: what is the energy potential of biofuels per year? Can the efficiency of
the biofuel be made as high as the other organic compounds such as the diesel? And is it possible
for biofuel to completely replace the petroleum products?
Substitution and fermentation reaction
In substitution reaction, alcohol can be formed by reduction of esters, aldehydes, acids and
ketones. Alkenes can also be hydrated to form the alcohol.
Hydration of alkenes
Markovnikov or anti-Markovnikov manner can be used to add water into the double bond
between the double bond of the alkene. Below is the Markovnikov method of addition.
C H3 −CH =C H2 + H2 O H+¿ →C H 3− OH
¿
CH −C
H3 +C H3 −C H2−OH ¿
¿

FUEL 3
When water is added to propene, 2-propanol and 1-propanol is formed. All the above products
could be formed using the anti-Markovnikov method through the hydroboration oxidation
reaction
Ketones and aldehyde reduction
The ketones have the following structure
R−
O
|¿|
C−R'
aldehyde has the following formula
R−O
¿
C – H
The two compounds can be reduced by a complex metal hydride such as the lithium aluminium
hydride. Sodium borohydride can also be used as well (Kuila, Mccarty, Derkowski, Fischer,
Topór & Prasad 2014). Below is the chemical reaction
Lithium aluminium hydride is a reducing agent that is very strong that has ability to reduce
several functional groups. Sodium borohydride is quite weak and can only reduce ketones and
aldehydes to alcohols only. Below is the chemical reaction