Methane from ethanol

The source materials for methanogens to form methane are limited to one carbon (Q) compound except for acetate. Previously, Methanobacterium omelianskii was thought to form methane from ethanol (Barker, 1956). But the bacterium was a mixed culture of Methanobacterium bryantii and a bacterium which decomposed ethanol to form hydrogen gas (Bacterium S) (Bryant et al., 1967). Therefore, the... 

Perhaps the simplest indication that nonpolar solutes such as argon or methane dislike the aqueous environment is found in the values of the standard free energy of transfer of these solutes from a nonaqueous solvent to water. Consider, for example, the standard free energy of transfer of methane from ethanol to water at 10°C (r, P constant)... 

What does this quantity mean In Chapter 4, we gave three possible interpretations of this quantity (1) the free energy of transferring one mole of methane from ethanol to water, at T and P constant, and at (water) = (alcohol), i.e., the molar concentrations of methane being the same in the two phases (2) the free energy of transferring one S molecule from a fixed position in ethanol to a fixed position in water (multipled by Avo-gadro s number) (3) for S in equilibrium between the two phases. 

T. Sakata and T. Kawai, 1981, Heterogeneous photocatalytic production of hydrogen and methane from ethanol and water, Chem. Phys. Lett., 80, 341-344. 

The submitters obtained 59.6-64.1 g. (65-70%) of product melting at 36-37° after recrystallization from ethanol. Reported melting points for bis(phenylthio)methane are 34-35°, 38-40°, and 39.5-40.5°." The proton magnetic resonance spectrum of the product in carbon tetrachloride exhibits a two-proton singlet at 8 4.30 and a 10-proton multiplet at 8 7.10-7.56. 

In a cold bath or in an explosion-proof refrigerator, a solution of 1.3 gm (approximately 0.0035 mole) of crude Y,Y -benzhydrylhydrazine (m.p. 114°-130°C) in a mixture of 40 ml of acetone and 50 ml of ethanol and 1.25 gm (0.0096 mole) of 30% hydrogen peroxide is maintained at 10°-15°C for 8 hr. The solvent is rapidly removed by evaporation under reduced pressure with only moderate warming. The residue is rapidly recrystallized from ethanol. Yield 1 gm (76%), m.p. 115°C dec. (NOTE On melting, azobis(diphenyl-methane) decomposes with loss of nitrogen to form a solid with m.p. 205°-210°C, which has been identified as the expected 1,1,2,2-tetraphenylethane.)... 

The N-[p-(p-aminophenyl)ethyl]-4-phenyl-4-carboethoxypiperidine is dissolved in 50 cc of hot anhydrous ethanol, an excess (about 20 cc) of 20% alcoholic hydrochloric acid solution is added upon scratching the side of the container crystals form. One hundred cubic centimeters of ether are then added to the mixture, the ethereal mixture is cooled, and the crystalline material which precipitates is recovered by filtration, washed with ether, and dried to give 12.7 grams of N-[p-(p-aminophenyl)ethyl]-4-phenyl-4-carboethoxypiperidine dihydrochloride which can be further purified by recrystallization from ethanol or methanal to give substantially pure material MP 275-277°C. 

Ethanol can also be produced from "non-food" materials, such as garbage or wastewater sludge, which are "negative-cost" feedstocks. If all American wastes (industrial and municipal) were converted to biofuels, not only would some 50 to 100 million gallons of fuel be obtained, but the emission of methane from landfills and other wastes would also be eliminated. Plasma gasification, a commercially available process, can also simultaneously increase the fuel supply and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

Today, the United States is using some 9 billion cubic feet of H2 a day in the petrochemical, food, and rocket propulsion industries. Around 98% of the bulk H2 is produced by steam reformation of natural gas (e.g., methane). Methane is reacted with water vapor over a catalyst to form carbon monoxide (CO) and H2. H2 can also be made from ethanol (alcohol), biomass, fossil fuels, or organic waste by the process of "reforming." Most of the currently operating H2 production plants depend on reforming natural gas. This is a process that emits C02 while consuming a nonrenewable fossil... 

A. Loss of methane from metastable ions indicates that neutral lost is 13CH4. (C2HsO)+ Ethanol 900 g, m 187... 

Carbon dioxide produced from ethanol fermentation plants or landfill gas may be recovered with similar processes. Unique to the fermentation plant is the ability to recover the carbon dioxide directly from the ethanol distillation tower, followed by a secondary water wash. Final purification and liquefaction stages then follow the normal process flow. Landfill gas recovery is unique in requiring essentially the removal of the methane and trace impurities.7,17 Several processes exist to... 

K 29 is the calibration constant for m/z = 29 determined from ethanol oxidation on a gold electrode, which present a current efficiency close to 90% for the formation of acetaldehyde. " " The authors also monitored the mass spectrometric signal for m/z = 15 and m/z = 30 corresponding to fragment of methane (CHs ) and ethane (C2He ), respectively. 

In this introduction, we have seen a variety of molecules that have diverse structures. They represent a miniscule fraction of the organic compounds currently known and the many thousands that are newly discovered or synthesized each year. The principles you learn in organic chemistry will apply to all of these molecules, from simple ones like methane and ethanol, to complex ones like capsaicin and palytoxin. It is these beautiful molecules, their properties, and their reactions that we will study in organic chemistry. 

Energy Ethanol from carbohydrates and methane from organic waste Fuel additives or heat generation... 

Bechamp (15) in 1867 was the first to describe methane production from a simple fermentation product, ethanol, and to attribute it to a microbial fermentation. The second product he found to be formed from ethanol was caproate, now known to be produced by Clostridium kluyveri (4). Thus, carbon-carbon bonds are not only destroyed early in the fermentation chain, they can also be reductively synthesized if the reaction is paired with the energy yielding oxidation of another substrate (c/. initial fermentations of acetate and ethanol and also of H2, Figure 1). Several successive fermentations may then be required to convert these products to methane and CO2. 

The significance of the ethanol and acetate fermentations remained in abeyance until Sohngen discovered the production of methane from H2 in 1906 (17). 

Either Fenton reagent or a mixture of ascorbic acid, Fe, and ethyl-enediaminetetraacetic acid catalyzed the production of acetyldehyde from ethanol, ethylene from methional derivative, and methane from dimethyl sulfoxide (34). The authors claimed that both hydroxy radicals and singlet oxygen were found as intermediates, and, indeed, ascorbic acid scavenged both hydroxyl radical and singlet oxygen. 

There are several ways to produce energy by fermentation, such as methane fermentation, ethanol fermentation and hydrogen fermentation. Of these, methane fermentation is rather organic waste treatment than energy production, while ethanol fermentation is of practical importance under certain conditions as demonstration in Brazil. Hydrogen fermentation is still not in practical use because the energy conversion efficiency from substrates is fairly low (Table 1), and also is not estimated from a suitable point of view for utilization. 

---