Ethyne as an Industrial Starting Material

Production of ethyne from coal requires high temperatures 

The high energy content of ethyne requires the use of production methods that are costly in energy. One process for making ethyne from coal uses hydrogen in an arc reactor at temperatures as high as several thousand degrees Celsius. 

The oldest large-scale preparation of ethyne proceeds through calcium carbide. Limestone (calcium oxide) and coke are heated to about 2000°C, which results in the desired product and carbon monoxide. 

The calcium carbide is then treated with water at ambient temperatures to give ethyne and calcium hydroxide. 

Polymerization of propenoic (acrylic) acid and its derivatives produces materials of considerable utility. The polymeric esters (polyacrylates) are tough, resilient, and flexible polymers that have replaced natural rubber (see Section 14-10) in many applications. Poly(ethyl acrylate) 

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