[billnotgatez]

Could some of my fellow forum members post how they would convert ethanol to ethane or ethene?
It would be nice if the process could be done at room temperature and pressure.

[Alberto_Kravina]

It's possible!

Take a big test tube and put some aluminium oxide (it works as a catalyst) Al₂O₃ in it. now add some mililiters of ethanol and heat.

    H H
    |  |
H-C-C-O-H  ------Al₂O₃+ Heat ---->
    |  |
    H H
                H     H
                  \     /
----------->   C=C         + H₂O
                  /     \
                H     H


http://www.chemguide.co.uk/organicprops/alkenes/making.html#top

[billnotgatez]

Thank you for the post and the link.
Any other ideas from anyone?

[Alberto_Kravina]

Do you mean another way to make ethene from ethanol or making ethene with other methods?

[billnotgatez]

Currently I am just interested in Ethane or Ethene from Ethanol. Is there more than one approach to this problem? The aluminum oxide procedure may lend itself to solar heat, which is intriguing.

[billnotgatez]

It seems to me that Mike and some of the others could join the fray

[mike]

hydroxyl groups are poor leaving groups so reduction of alcohols is rarely done in one step.

You could try tosylating the alcohol (OH) and then reacting with LiAlH₄

[mike]

You could possibly dehydrate the alcohol with an acid catalyst. I am not sure how practical this is for you example, you could probably drive the equilibrium by removing product(?)


haha, I just noticed that alberto's link said the same thing

[Alberto_Kravina]

Mabye you can make ethane just by adding sodium hydride to ethanol:

C₂H₆O + NaH -----> C₂H₆ + NaOH

Beware: You should make it in absenge of water (oh well, a total absence of water is impossible, but If you make this reaction use pure ethanol)

NaH + H₂O -----> NaOH + H_2(g)

[GCT]

interesting thing about converting ethanol to ethane is on how one would collect the ethane (-88.6C boiling point).  Not an org chem major by the way.

[Alberto_Kravina]

Here is how I would collect the ethane:


http://www.chemguide.co.uk/organicprops/alkenes/making.html#top

(The picture shows how to collect ethene, but It´s the same for ethane)

[pantone159]

That's a really good website, btw.

[billnotgatez]

On that web site – in the diagram – they have “mineral wool soaked in ethanol”

Why?
What is mineral wool?

[billnotgatez]

When searching on this site for tosylat – I found this entry by Movies

http://www.chemicalforums.com/index.php?board=3;action=display;threadid=850;start=msg7151#msg7151

[billnotgatez]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_wool
After reading the above site I sort of understand what mineral wool is.
I wonder if they are using the condition version and why they are soaking mineral wool with the ethanol.

On a separate note, I think I have the alumina (aluminum oxide?) from a ceramics store, but I have to confirm the composition.