Ethanol fermentation facts for kids

When baking bread, the carbon dioxide from the fermentation will cause the bread to rise. The alcohol will evaporate during the baking process

Alcoholic fermentation of beer.

A mug of beer, as the product of the fermentation

Ethanol fermentation is a cool natural process. It changes sugar into energy for living things. This process also makes two main things: ethanol (a type of alcohol) and carbon dioxide gas. Because it makes alcohol, people also call it alcoholic fermentation.

Tiny living things called yeast are experts at this. They do it without needing any oxygen. This is why it's called an anaerobic process. Some special kinds of fish can even do this. They use it to get energy when there is not much oxygen in their water.

Where Do We Use Ethanol Fermentation?

Ethanol fermentation is super useful! It helps us make many things we use every day.

Making Drinks

This process is key for making many alcoholic drinks. For example, it helps create beer and wine. Yeast eats the sugars in grains or fruits. Then, it turns them into ethanol and carbon dioxide.

Fuel for Cars

Ethanol can also be used as a fuel. It can power cars, sometimes mixed with gasoline. This type of fuel is called ethanol fuel. It's a way to use plants to make energy.

Baking Bread

Have you ever seen bread dough rise? That's thanks to ethanol fermentation! Yeast in the dough eats the sugars in the flour. It makes carbon dioxide gas. This gas gets trapped in the dough, making it puff up and become light and fluffy. The alcohol made during baking usually evaporates, so it's not in the final bread.

How Does It Happen?

Ethanol fermentation is a type of fermentation. This means it's a way for cells to get energy without using oxygen.

Here's a simple way to think about it:

• First, a sugar molecule (like glucose) is broken down. This creates a smaller molecule called pyruvate.
• Then, the pyruvate is changed into ethanol and carbon dioxide gas. This step releases energy that the yeast or other organisms can use.

This whole process is very important in nature and for many things we use in our lives.

Images for kids

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  A laboratory vessel being used for the fermentation of straw

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  Fermentation of sucrose by yeast

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  The formation of carbon dioxide – a byproduct of ethanol fermentation – causes bread to rise.

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  Primary fermentation cellar, Budweiser Brewery, Fort Collins, Colorado

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  Grapes fermenting during wine production.

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  Pyruvate

See also

In Spanish: Fermentación alcohólica para niños