A. an acid
B. a dehydrating agent
C. an oxidizing agent
D. as sulphonating agent
¨ When sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is treated with ethanol (C2H5OH), sulfuric acid behaves like a dehydrating agent.
¨ Sulfuric acid is a strong acid and has a tendency to remove water from other compounds, including alcohols like ethanol. In the presence of sulfuric acid, ethanol loses a molecule of water (H2O) to form ethene (C2H4) according to the following reaction:
¨ C2H5OH + H2SO4 → C2H4 + H2SO4 + H2O
¨ In this reaction, sulfuric acid acts as a dehydrating agent, which means that it promotes the removal of water from the reactants to form a new compound.
Submitted by :- Jamil Ahmed