We explain what chemical energy is, what it is for, its advantages and disadvantages. Also, its different uses and main characteristics.
What is chemical energy?
Chemical energy is the energy contained in or produced through reactions between the molecules of one or more compounds . It is the internal energy that a body or substance has based on the types of chemical bonds that occur between its components and the amount of energy that can be released from reactions between them Molecule Database.
Chemical energy (one of the ways in which energy manifests itself in reality ) is always associated with matter and manifests itself when a modification occurs in the chemical bonds of the atoms and molecules that compose it. This can occur in the presence of heat sources or other substances with which an exchange of particles occurs , which generally produces heat , light or other forms of energy derived from the reaction.
Thus, chemical energy is a form of potential energy contained in chemical substances . These substances, once they participate in a reaction, are transformed into other usable forms of energy. This is how, for example, the combustion processes of gasoline and other fossil hydrocarbons operate .
The use of this form of energy may be relatively new in the history of humanity, but not in the history of the world: since ancient times, life has taken advantage of photosynthesis and chemosynthesis, among other processes of obtaining energy, to take advantage of the chemical molecular potential of matter.
What is chemical energy used for?
According to the Principle of Conservation of Energy, energy can be transformed but not created or destroyed. Furthermore, chemical energy is a form of potential energy that can be transformed into other forms of energy that have practical applications in human life, such as light , thermal , kinetic energy , etc., to carry out work.
For example, gasoline is used to convert chemical energy into kinetic energy, when we use it to move a vehicle, such as a motorcycle.
Advantages of chemical energy
Chemical energy has the following advantages:
It has high performance. Large amounts of matter are not required to obtain energy from its molecules.
Allows you to modify the matter. These chemical reactions not only produce energy, but also different types of matter that in many cases can be used to obtain new materials.
Allows you to take advantage of waste materials. Bioethanol and other biofuels are formed from organic matter that would otherwise decompose uselessly.
Disadvantages of chemical energy
On the other hand, chemical energy can present certain drawbacks:
Presents byproducts. Many times they can be polluting substances, as in the case of fossil fuels that expel toxic gases into the atmosphere .
Requires constant inputs. Since they are exhausted after the chemical reaction (maintaining the rate of chemical consumption or combustion requires more organic matter to feed the reaction).
chemical energy of food
The foods we consume daily are an ideal example of chemical energy and its use. These foods contain different organic substances necessary to provide energy to our body, such as fuel for vehicle engines.
These organic substances are decomposed in our body to obtain glucose (C6H12O6), the molecule whose oxidation during cellular respiration releases large amounts of caloric energy (calories) to keep the body functioning. Excess glucose is converted into fat: a reserve in case we need it later.
This is an example of the use of the chemical energy of glucose contained in food to produce mechanical energy (moving, standing), sound (speaking), electrical energy (the electricity of the neurons that allows us to think), etc.
Examples of chemical energy
Some examples are the following:
Fossil fuels . Gasoline, diesel, and petroleum-derived fuels are made up of sequences of carbon- and hydrogen-based molecules whose bonds can break in the presence of oxygen (combustion), thus violently releasing large amounts of energy.
The foods we eat. The glucose contained in food is oxidized in our body and by breaking its bonds we obtain a useful caloric load to maintain the body’s energy.
Bioluminescence. Many living organisms have the ability to produce light with their bodies, which is known as bioluminescence . That light energy comes from the chemical energy stored in their bodies.
Space travel. Space rockets work by the controlled reaction between various substances with high chemical energy (hydrogen and liquid oxygen, generally) that are converted into enormous amounts of kinetic energy.