Need Help with Dot point (1 Viewer)

[DrDream_Cardio]

Identify that cellulose contains the basic carbon-chain structures needed to build petrochemicals and discuss its potential as a raw material.

Its just the discuss as raw material part that im not sure on......

 

[Dragonmaster262]

It means discuss how effectively it can be used as raw cellulose. Obviously cellulose cannot be used directly as a petrochemical. It has to be broken down into glucose then ethanol then ethylene. So everything will originally come from cellulose but where will all this cellulose come from and will this cause an impact on the environment, economy etc?

 

[Pwnage101]

Exacty - this part of the dot points wants you to understand that it has huge potential as a raw material - it can be broken down into (eventually) ethylene, from which many useful products are made from - and what makes it ideal is that cellulose is a renewable resource.

 

[study-freak]

Exacty - this part of the dot points wants you to understand that it has huge potential as a raw material - it can be broken down into (eventually) ethylene, from which many useful products are made from - and what makes it ideal is that cellulose is a renewable resource.

Well we can't say that it's ideal because of the huge amount of energy/cost needed to break cellulose down to monnomers, ferment and extract ethanol, and dehydrate it to ethylene.
certainly has a huge potential though

 

[Pwnage101]

^^True. Coupled with ethical questions about whether we should use biomass for the petrochemical industry when there are people starving in the world, and this could cause competition between food crops on viable land.

 

[study-freak]

Yeah, for that reason, we can prob utilise plenty of waste products that are usually buried or incinerated. A great deal of them are cellulose-rich so yeah.

Btw, to Pwnage101: congrats for the promotion to mod!

 

[Pwnage101]

Thanks study-freak!

I hope you continue to contribute to the Chemistry and Physics Forums - your input is appreciated and welcomed.

 

[markbradfield]

Re: Need Help with Dot point - EasyChem answer

hey drdream and others,

this is the best answer to this dot-point that I have seen:
Cellulose as a Raw Material (EasyChem)

hope it helps!

mark

 

[study-freak]

good, but some are over the top lol