Bridging the Renewable Energy Gap: Alkane Resources
A set of student-designed alkane models.Copyright 2022 Rebecca Humbarger, University of Notre Dame RET
Students use an online molecule-modeling platform to learn about alkanes. Students then model the reaction of ethylene into butylene through a chemical process called oligomerization, which is one step in the process of converting shale gas ethane into fuel for transportation.
The transportation industry gets 85% of its fuel from fossil resources. Shale gases, found readily in the United States, are an emerging resource projected to provide enough energy to bridge the gap from our reliance on fossil fuels to reliance on renewable resources for transportation. Shale gases are composed of light hydrocarbons which cannot replace octane directly. Chemical engineers design methods to process light shale gases into octane-level fuels. These engineers develop new catalysts and reactor designs with the help of scientists who iterate computer simulations to maximize conversion rates and reduce the fuel needs of the process itself. With their innovations and hard work, we will reach our goal of environmental sustainability.
After this activity, students should be able to
- Model molecules using the WebMO website.
- Describe how light hydrocarbons are converted into fuels for transportation.
- Recognize alkanes as compounds composed of carbon and hydrogen.