The reaction for the formation of C2 H5 OH(l) is given by:
2C(s) + 6H2(g) + 21O2(g) → C2 H5 OH(l) + 3H2O(l)
The heat of combustion for C2 H5 OH(l) is:
C2 H5 OH(l) + 3O2(g) → 2CO2(g) + 3H2O(l) By adding the formation reaction with the combustion reaction times -1, we get:
2C(s) + 3H2(g) + 23O2(g) → 2CO2(g) + 3H2O(l) This reaction has a heat equal to the heat of formation of ethanol times -1.
Therefore, the heat of formation of ethanol is equal to:
−1234.7 kJ/mol + 2∗(−393.5 kJ/mol) + 3∗(−241.8 kJ/mol)
Calculating this gives:
Δ Hf(C2 H5 OH(l)) = −277.7 ≈ −278 kJ/mol (rounded to the nearest integer)