Gasoline additive, ethanol

Ethyl Chloride. Previously a significant use for industrial ethanol was the synthesis of ethyl chloride [75-00-3] for use as an intermediate in producing tetraethyllead, an antiknock gasoline additive. Ethanol is converted to ethyl chloride by reaction with hydrochloric acid in the presence of aluminum or zinc chlorides. However, since about 1960, routes based on the direct addition of hydrochloric acid to ethylene or ethane have become more competitive (374,375). 

Fermentation is also the basis for the manufacture of biomass foodstuffs (primarily protein for animal and human consumption), amino acids (especially monosodium glutamate and L-lysine), and the major industrial feedstock and gasoline additive, ethanol. 

Ethanol (industrial solvent used in preparation of ethyl acetate unleaded gasoline additive)... 

For these reasons, ethanol is most likely to find use as a motor fuel in the form of a gasoline additive, either as ethanol or ethanol-based ethers. In these blend uses, ethanol can capture the high market value of gasoline components that provide high octane and reduced vapor pressure. 

The hydroperoxide process involves oxidation of propjiene (qv) to propylene oxide by an organic hydroperoxide. An alcohol is produced as a coproduct. Two different hydroperoxides are used commercially that result in / fZ-butanol or 1-phenylethanol as the coproduct. The / fZ-butanol (TBA) has been used as a gasoline additive, dehydrated to isobutjiene, and used as feedstock to produce methyl tert-huty ether (MTBE), a gasoline additive. The 1-phenyl ethanol is dehydrated to styrene. ARCO Chemical has plants producing the TBA coproduct in the United States, Erance, and the Netherlands. Texaco has a TBA coproduct plant in the United States. Styrene coproduct plants are operated by ARCO Chemical in the United States and Japan, Shell in the Netherlands, Repsol in Spain, and Yukong in South Korea. 

Another problem with fermentation products is often the limited outlet. The primary fermentation products such as alcohols require chemical transformations to convert them into species acceptable by the chemical industry as intermediates. This can normally occur through dehydration reactions [77]. For example, ethanol may need to be dehydrated into ethylene, isopropanol into propylene and n-butanol into n-butylene. These reactions are reversed petrochemical reactions and normally lead to products that have a lower selling price than the starting materials under the present structure of the chemical industry. For this reason, bioethanol is still used unchanged as an oxygenated gasoline additive. 

Since the vapor space in ethanol tanks will be flammable more frequently than for gasoline (neat ethanol only—E85 should not present a difference in comparison to gasoline), flame arresters are recommended in the vent line from the tank. Most conservation vents can be ordered with flame arresters built in, or they can be added to the vent line in addition. Unlike methanol, conservation vents made from aluminum should not experience corrosion from ethanol vapors and should be acceptable. 

Ethanol, ethyl alcohol (mp, -114°C bp, 78°C), is a clear, colorless liquid widely used as a beverage ingredient, synthetic chemical, solvent, germicide, antifreeze, and gasoline additive. It is produced by the fermentation of carbohydrates or by the hydration of ethylene, as shown by the... 

The process economics is dominated by the feedstock cost. Because fuel ethanol is widely used as gasoline additive, the cost of ethanol is dependent on the prevailing oil (gasoline) price. At present the... 

Ethanol is also a common laboratory solvent, which is sometimes made unfit to ingest by adding small amounts of benzene or methanol (both of which are toxic). Ethanol is used as a gasoline additive because it readily combusts with the release of energy. Other simple alcohols are listed in Figure 9.4. 

Brevetoxin, a polyether neurotoxin produced by a single-celled organism that occurs in red tides (Opener, Section 9.5) Ethanol, a gasoline additive that can be produced from the fermentation of carbohydrates in grains (Section 9.5) The design of asthma drugs that block the synthesis of leukotriene, highly potent molecules that contribute to the asthmatic response (Section 9.16)... 

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