Chemistry Assessment Task - Part A: Chemical Equation for the Fermentation of Glucose to Ethanol

In photosynthesis, cells take in carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) by absorbing energy from the sun, and then the cells release oxygen (O2) and store glucose (C6H12O6). The formula of photosynthesis is:

One of the most significant reactions in Glycolysis is reaction one which involves the phosphorylation of glucose to form glucose-6-phosphate. Through the transfer of the hydrolysis of ATP, this supplies energy for the reaction and makes it essentially irreversible, having a negative free energy change, which allows for a spontaneous reaction in cells. Although the preparatory phase is energy consuming and uses up 2 ATP, the pay off phase synthesizes 4 molecules of ATP, with the transfer of 4e- via 2 hydride ions to 2 molecules of NAD+. Therefore, a net gain of 2 ATP is achieved through the glycolytic pathway alone. Following the glycolytic pathway, due to the absence of oxygen, as oxygen cannot be supplied fast enough to undergo aerobic respiration, the athlete will instead, undergo lactic acid fermentation. Lactic acid fermentation involves pyruvate that is formed from the glycolytic pathway to be reduced to lactate, with the aid of the enzyme, lactate dehydrogenase, while the coenzyme Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NADH) is oxidised to NAD+. The product NAD+ then re-enters the glycolytic pathway in order to produce 2 ATP. This process of lactic acid fermentation produces 2 ATP for each cycle, and thus, rapidly supplies the body with a small amount of energy. However, with the buildup of lactic acid in the body, the athlete will eventually encounter the feeling of discomfort as this accumulation of lactate causes the body to

Cellular respiration is the series of metabolic process by which living cells produce energy through the oxidation of organic substances. Cellular respiration takes place in the mitochondria. Fermentation is the process by which complex organic compounds such as glucose, are broken down by the action of enzymes into simpler compounds without the use of oxygen. The significance of these pathways for organisms is to allow for an organism to be able to generate ATP. Some organism that undergo cellular respiration are bacteria and fungi. Some organism that undergo fermentation are yeast and muscle cells. In cellular respiration, glucose is oxidized and releases energy. In cellular respiration, glucose produces ATP and 3-carbon molecules of pyruvate. The pyruvate is then further broken down in the mitochondria where it becomes oxidized and releases CO2 (Upadhyaya 2014). In the fermentation process oxygen does not play a part. This process converts glucose into pyruvate and produces ATP. From there pyruvate breaks down into CO2 and acetaldehyde (Upadhyaya 2014) Monosaccharides are known as simple sugars and their main function is being the source of energy for organisms. Disaccharides are two monosaccharides joined by a covalent bond and their primary function is to provide food to monosaccharides. Some disaccharides

Ethanol (CH3CH2OH) is a clear, colorless liquid. It is also known as ethyl alcohol, EtOH, and grain alcohol. Ethanol is widely produced by processing grains such as corn or starch and sugar crops. The grain is first milled, then fermented with yeast and different enzymes to turn the grain 's starches into alcohol(EPA). A distillation process then increases the ethanol concentrations, basically the same process a whiskey maker would use to make whiskey. Of course, law mandates that a denaturant is added, making the liquid unsafe for drinking. In the process, waste grain is produced and sold as farm animal feed. Bioethanol, can be made from many types of trees and grasses, but the procedure is much harder. The chemical formula of ethanol is the same whether it is made from starch and sugar-based feedstocks, such as corn grain (widely used in United States), sugar cane (Brazil), or from cellulosic feedstocks (such as wood chips or crop residues). (The Alternative Fuels Data Center)

Produced through fermentation, ethanol, is a renewable resource, diluting petrol with ethanol will increase the lifetime of fossil fuels. Amylase and maltase, biological catalysts, convert the starch (from maize or waste vegetation) into maltose first and then glucose. Anaerobic respiration of yeast, in a process called glycolysis,

C. We can conclude that it allowed us to determine that anaerobic distillate, wine distillate and ethanol and water yielded a precipitate and that the ethanol was present. This shows that during ethanol fermentation of yeast, water and corn syrup distillate did not form precipitate, thus no ethanol present which demonstrated that distilled corn syrup and water do not allow for fermentation to take place while wine distillate and the ethanol and water combination does indeed produce

Photosynthesis is the process in which plants use the sun’s light energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates such as glucose, sucrose, starch and cellulose.

CO2 is specifically formed during the Pyruvate oxidation and Kreb Cycle stage of the cellular respiration. To exemplify during pyruvate oxidation one of the steps is a decarboxylation reaction in which the carboxyl group of pyruvate is removed to from CO2. Overall for one glucose molecule two molecules of CO2 is released during pyruvate oxidation as glycolysis yields two pyruvate molecules. Furthermore the Krebs Cycle also produces CO2 molecules during the oxidation of isocitrate which produces a-ketoglutarate. Another CO2 molecule is also produced during the oxidation of a-ketoglutarate.

Alcoholic Fermentation as a means of acquiring energy. It does this by freeing up some NADH

Alcohol or ethanol, is an intoxicating ingredient found in beer, wine, and liquor. Alcohol is produced by the fermentation of yeast, sugars, and starches. This fermentation of fruits, grains have been used for thousands of years by humans to make alcoholic drinks and beverages .

In this stage the enzymes split a molecule of glucose into two molecules of pyruvate. Before Glycolysis happens, there will be needed energy to begin the process. The energy to split glucose will be provided by two molecules of ATP. During glycolysis there will be energy that will be released. The energy will be used to make four molecules of ATP.

The liver synthesizes glycogen from glucose which is process called glycogenesis. After that process, glycogen or glucose must be converted to glucose-6-phosphate before energy can be generated. Glucose-1-phosphate is converted to glucose-6-phosphate. Glycolysis requires 10 to 12 enzymatic reactions for the breakdown of glycogen to pyruvic acid, which is then converted to lactic acid. All steps in the pathway and all of the enzymes involved operate within the cell cytoplasm. (Wilmore, J.) For each glycogen broken down, the result is 3 molecules of ATP.

Technological advances that are needed to justify the use of Ethanol include the ability to provide higher yields of corn per acre, the reduction of resources and energy needed to mill ethanol and an improvement in the mileage efficiency for vehicles using ethanol. We are working towards reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and our development of alternative energy sources, but we are not there yet. More research and development in the lab, along with rational reviews of the resources that will be needed and used during production which consequently impacts consumers’ needs to occur more thoroughly before we initiate action. However, even if we do create a sustainable fuel source, I don’t think we are addressing the larger picture. According

Table 1: Table of Results Showing the Effect of Yeast Mass on the Rate of Yeast-Facilitated Fermentation of Glucose

In the conversion of xylose to ethanol by xylose-fermenting microorganisms, xylose is first transported across the cell membrane by a proton symport where xylose is reduced to xylitol via a xylose reductase (XR). Then, xylitol is oxidized to xylulose by a xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH). The xylulose is then phosphorylated to xylulose-5-phosphate before entering the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). Thereafter, the xylulose-5-phosphate is metabolized to glyceralde-hyde-3-phosphate, and then these compounds are converted to pyruvate where it is finally con-verted to acetaldehyde, which further reduced to ethanol, as demonstrated in Figure 2.1 (McMil-lan, 1993). Yeasts and fungi use this two-step oxidoreduction reaction to convert xylose to xylu-lose.