Synthetic ethanol

Direct Hydration of Ethylene. Hydration of ethylene to ethanol via a Hquid-phase process cataly2ed by dilute sulfuric acid was first demonstrated more than a hundred years ago (82). In 1923, the passage of an ethylene-steam mixture over alumina at 300°C was found to give a small yield of acetaldehyde, and it was inferred that this was produced via ethanol (83). Since the late 1920s, several industrial concerns have expressed interest in producing ethanol synthetically from ethylene over soHd catalysts. However, not until 1947 was the first commercial plant for the manufacture of ethanol by catalytic hydration started in the United States by Shell the same process was commerciali2ed in the United Kingdom in 1951. 

Here, the energy carries are categorised into three as shown in Figure 2, namely hydrocarbons, electricity and hydrogen. As for the hydrocarbon energy carriers, gasoline, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas, compressed natural gas and so on are used at present, while dimethyl ether, ethanol, synthetic fuels and so on will be used in the future. 

Synthetic ethanol is derived from petroleum by hydration of ethylene In the United States some 700 million lb of synthetic ethanol is produced annually It is relatively inexpensive and useful for industrial applications To make it unfit for drinking it is denatured by adding any of a number of noxious materials exempting it from the high taxes most governments impose on ethanol used m beverages... 

Because oil and gas ate not renewable resources, at some point in time alternative feedstocks will become attractive however, this point appears to be fat in the future. Of the alternatives, only biomass is a renewable resource (see Fuels frombiomass). The only chemical produced from biomass in commercial quantities at the present time is ethanol by fermentation. The cost of ethanol from biomass is not yet competitive with synthetically produced ethanol from ethylene. Ethanol (qv) can be converted into a number of petrochemical derivatives and could become a significant source. 

Biofuels. Biofuels are Hquid fuels, primarily used ia transportation (qv), produced from biomass feedstocks. Identified Hquid fuels and blending components iaclude ethanol (qv), methanol (qv), and the ethers ethyl /-butyl ether (ETBE) and methyl /-butyl ether (MTBE), as well as synthetic gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels. 

In the early years of the chemical industry, use of biological agents centered on fermentation (qv) techniques for the production of food products, eg, vinegar (qv), cheeses (see Milk and milk products), beer (qv), and of simple organic compounds such as acetone (qv), ethanol (qv), and the butyl alcohols (qv). By the middle of the twentieth century, most simple organic chemicals were produced synthetically. Fermentation was used for food products and for more complex substances such as pharmaceuticals (qv) (see also Antibiotics). Moreover, supports were developed to immobilize enzymes for use in industrial processes such as the hydrolysis of starch (qv) (see Enzyme applications). 

Industrial ethyl alcohol can be produced synthetically from ethylene [74-85-17, as a by-product of certain industrial operations, or by the fermentation of sugar, starch, or cellulose. The synthetic route suppHes most of the industrial market in the United States. The first synthesis of ethanol from ethylene occurred in 1828 in Michael Faraday s lab in Cambridge (40). 

Worldwide ethanol demand in 1991 was about 19 x 10 L, of which the industrial demand was about 5 x 10 L. The majority of the worldwide demand was for fuel use with Brazil consuming 11.9 X 10 L in 1989 (239) and the United States consuming 3.6 X 10 L in 1990 (240). In 1991, worldwide synthetic ethanol capacity amounted to 2.04 x 10 L, with the United States having a capacity of 0.802 x 10 L, 39% of the world total (Table 2). In 1991, the total ethanol capacity in the United States was 4.67 x 10 L with an industrial demand of 0.908 x 10 L. Fermentation alcohol and imports suppHed the remainder of the industrial market not suppHed by synthetic alcohol. 

Foreign synthetic ethanol capacity increased dramatically in the 1970s. In 1973, U.S. producers commanded a hefty 74% of the world synthetic ethanol capacity in 1977 the United States had only 54% of the worldwide capacity. By 1991, with the shutdown of several U.S. faciUties, the United States share had dropped to 39%. 

Dehydration of ethanol has been effected over a variety of catalysts, among them synthetic and naturally occurring aluminas, siUca-aluminas, and activated alumina (315—322), hafnium and 2irconium oxides (321), and phosphoric acid on coke (323). Operating space velocity is chosen to ensure that the two consecutive reactions. 

Ethanol [64-17-5] M 46.1, b 78.3 , d 0.79360, d 0.78506, n 1.36139, pK 15.93. Usual impurities of fermentation alcohol are fusel oils (mainly higher alcohols, especially pentanols), aldehydes, esters, ketones and water. With synthetic alcohol, likely impurities are water, aldehydes, aliphatic esters, acetone and diethyl ether. Traces of benzene are present in ethanol that has been dehydrated by azeotropic distillation with benzene. Anhydrous ethanol is very hygroscopic. Water (down to 0.05%) can be detected by formation of a voluminous ppte when aluminium ethoxide in benzene is added to a test portion. Rectified... 

In addition to its water solubility poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) is soluble in a very wide range of materials, including aliphatic halogenated hydrocarbons (methylene dichloride, chloroform), many monohydric and polyhdric alcohols (methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol), some ketones (acetyl acetone) and lactones (a-butyrolactone), lower aliphatic acids (glacial acetic acid) and the nitro-paraffins. The polymer is also compatible with a wide range of other synthetic polymers, with gums and with plasticisers. 

---