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Aug 18, 2017
Ethane upon direct halogenation in presence of sunlight gives ethyl chloride. C2H6 + Cl2—→ C2H5Cl + HCl Ethyl chloride when reacted with alcoholic KOH, forms ethene. This reaction is known as Beta - elimination reaction and proceeds by simultane. One alternative to steam cracking is microwave cracking. At laboratory scale, high conversions and high ethylene selectivity have been obtained. Rather than using a furnace to heat the gas, 2.45 GHz microwaves are capable of energy efficient heating. Although this technology is currently still in development.
Explanation:
The starting molecule in the question, undecane, will break down into three products. Two are listed in your question: ethene and propene (these are alkenes). The third product is an alkane that consists of the 'leftover' carbons and hydrogens. Ethene has the formula #C_2H_4# . Propene has the formula #C_3H_6# .
So far, you have:
Remember that we have to balance the equation, so the leftover carbons and hydrogens will go to the third product. We have #11-2-3 = 6# carbons and #24-4-6=14# hydrogens. This forms the alkane known as hexane.
Now the balanced equation is:
Cracking involves larger alkanes, so hexane should not break down.
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