Comparison of Heat Energy Produced by Combustion of Various Alcohols

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 Abstract

The industrial use of alcohols as a source of fuel has motivated researchers to study the
properties of different alcohols through a series of experiments. In this experiment, 100 cm 3
water were measures and added to a conical flask. The conical flask was clamped at a reasonable
height above a sprit burner. The initial temperature of the water was recorded before it was
heated using methanol in a spirit burner. The mass of methanol used to heat the water to a certain
temperature was recorded and the procedure repeated for three other alcohols (ethanol, propanol,
and butanol). It came out clear that propanol produced the most energy per gram. Measures
should be taken in future experiments to make sure that the procedure is as accurate as possible.

Introduction

Chemical reactions are associated with a certain degree of energy change, with exothermic and
endothermic as the terms used to describe types of chemical reactions (Kolios, Frauhammer, &
Eigenberger, 2002). Exothermic reactions happening in a solution release energy thereby causing
an increase in the solution’s temperature. On the other hand, endothermic reactions absorb
energy hence causes a decrease in temperature of the solution. According to van Sint Annaland,
and Nijssen (2002), energy is absorbed to form bonds (endothermic process) while energy is
released whenever bonds are formed (exothermic process). It is known that different alcohols
have different chemical formulae, an indication that the type and number of bonds vary from one
alcohol to the other (da Silva, Kim & Bozzelli, 2006). When alcohols like ethanol, propanol, and
butanol are heated to a certain temperature, bonds break and heat is released. The amount of heat
energy produced by a specific alcohol can be determined through various means. However, the
most common method and of interest in the current experiment is heating water using diverse
alcohols as fuels then measuring the amount of alcohol produced. The value of such experiments
in the industrial world cannot be ignored, especially because they are used to determine the most
economical alcohols for commercial use as fuels. As explained by Aydın and Okutan (2011), a
fuel is said to be good if it produces substantial heat energy using a relatively small amount of
fuel. On the contrary, a bad fuel uses a lot of fuel to produce a small amount of energy.

Results and Discussion

The experimental results were as shown in the table below:

Alcohol Initial Final Temperature Initial Final Mass

temperature/0C temperature/0C change mass/g mass/g used
Methanol 22 62 40 276 272 4
Ethanol 24 64 40 278 278 0
Propanol 22 62 40 272 270 2
Butanol 22 62 40 240 236 4

Calculations

Energy released per gram of each alcohol was calculated using the formula below. In this
equation, 4.2 represents the specific heat of water in J/g/C.

mass of water ( g ) x temperature change ( 0 C ) x 4.2

Energy released per gramof alcohol (J )=
Mass of alcohol(g)

What follow are actual calculations of energy released for each alcohol used in the experiment.

100 x 40 x 4.2
Energy released per gramof methanol=
4

¿ 4200 J
 ¿ 4.2 kJ

100 x 40 x 4.2
Energy released per gramof Ethanol=
0

¿∞

100 x 40 x 4.2
Energy released per gramof Propanol=
2

¿ 8400 J

¿ 8.4 kJ

100 x 40 x 4.2
Energy released per gramof Butanol=
4

¿ 4200 J

¿ 4.2 kJ

From the above calculations, it is clear that, the higher the mass of alcohol used, the less the
energy released per gram of the alcohol in question. The experiment revealed that propanol
provides the most energy per gram. These results are graphically presented below. Ethanol was
not included in the graph because its energy per gram was infinity.
 9

6
Energy per gram/kJ

0
Methanol Propanol Butanol
Alcohol

Experiments revolving around the energy produced by different alcohols when burnt have been
conducted for a number of years because of the value of alcohols as a source of fuel in different
industries. The differences in the amount of energy produced per gram by the studied alcohols
can be attributed to the number of carbon atoms a certain alcohol has. Methanol, ethanol,
propanol, and butanol have one, two, three, and four carbon atoms, respectively. As such, if the
experiment is conducted in such a way that all confounding factors are kept in check, alcohols
with more carbon atoms are expected to release more energy per gram. This is because the
number of bonds broken to release energy increases with an addition of a carbon atom.

Conclusions

In this experiment, alcohols were heated in turns and the heat energy released used to heat 100
cm3 of water until there was a change in temperature by about 40 0C. The mass of alcohol
consumed was computed to have figures that would allow calculation of the energy produced per
gram of alcohol. Propanol was found to produce the highest energy per gram among the studied
alcohols. In such an experiment, it becomes necessary to minimize the probability of errors
through a number of ways, explaining why the results obtained may not align with what is
available in academic literature (a linear graph as the number of carbon atoms in the alcohol
increases). To avoid costly errors in future experiments, measurements like volume of water and
mass of alcohol should be as accurate as possible.

Experimental section

All the materials needed for this experiment were received from the instructor and utilized
without further manipulation or purification. A measuring cylinder was used to measure 100 cm 3
of water, which was later poured into a conical flask. The conical flask was clamped at a suitable
height above the spirit burner and the initial temperature of the water recorded. Some methanol
was placed into the spirit burner and mass recorded while the lid was in place. The burner was
placed under the conical flask and ignited after the lid was removed. A thermometer used to stir
the water gently until there was a change in temperature by 40 0C. The flame was extinguished
before the lid was placed in position. The final temperature and mass of water and conical flask
were recorded. The procedure was repeated with three other alcohols that included ethanol,
propanol, and butanol.
 References

Aydın, A. A., & Okutan, H. (2011). High-chain fatty acid esters of myristyl alcohol with odd
carbon number: Novel organic phase change materials for thermal energy storage—
2. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 95(8), 2417-2423.
da Silva, G., Kim, C. H., & Bozzelli, J. W. (2006). Thermodynamic properties (enthalpy, bond
energy, entropy, and heat capacity) and internal rotor potentials of vinyl alcohol, methyl
vinyl ether, and their corresponding radicals. The Journal of Physical Chemistry
A, 110(25), 7925-7934.
Kolios, G., Frauhammer, J., & Eigenberger, G. (2002). Efficient reactor concepts for coupling of
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van Sint Annaland, M., & Nijssen, R. C. (2002). A novel reverse flow reactor coupling
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