The enthalpy of reaction for the combustion of ethane 2CH₃CH₃ + 7O₂ → 4CO₂ + 6H₂O calculated from the average bond energies of the compounds is -2860 kJ/mol.

The reaction is:

2CH₃CH₃ + 7O₂ → 4CO₂ + 6H₂O (1)

The enthalpy of reaction (1) is given by:

$\Delta H = \Delta H_{r} - \Delta H_{p}$ (2)

Where:

r: is for reactants

p: is for products

The bonds of the compounds of reaction (1) are:

2CH₃CH₃: 2 moles of 6 C-H bonds + 2 moles of 1 C-C bond

7O₂: 7 moles of 1 O=O bond

4CO₂: 4 moles of 2 C=O bonds

6H₂O: 6 moles of 2 H-O bonds

Hence, the enthalpy of reaction (1) is (eq 2):

$\Delta H = \Delta H_{r} - \Delta H_{p}$

$\Delta H = 2*\Delta H_{CH_{3}CH_{3}} + 7\Delta H_{O_{2}} - (4*\Delta H_{CO_{2}} + 6*\Delta H_{H_{2}O})$

$\Delta H = 2*(6*\Delta H_{C-H} + \Delta H_{C-C}) + 7\Delta H_{O=O} - (4*2*\Delta H_{C=O} + 6*2*\Delta H_{H-O})$

$\Delta H = [2*(6*413 + 347) + 7*498 - (4*2*799 + 6*2*467)] kJ/mol$

$\Delta H = -2860 kJ/mol$

Therefore, the enthalpy of reaction for the combustion of ethane is -2860 kJ/mol.