Lower olefins alkenes versus acetylene ethyne

3 Lower olefins (alkenes) versus acetylene (ethyne) 

1 General considerations. A number of organic products are potentially producible from either acetylene or a lower olefin, for example  

The reactions of acetylene are simpler, and were important early commercial routes to the products indicated, acetaldehyde, vinyl acetate and acrylonitrile. 

We have just seen that the net energy requirements for acetylene are higher than for ethylene, and the difference is reflected in the energy requirements for all downstream products. To give an indication of how energy balances can continue to be applied the following table has been compiled from fairly modern sources. Energy inputs of 2 0 and 3 0 MJ/mol have been used for ethylene and acetylene respectively. 

2 Vinyl chloride (chloroethene). The production of vinyl chloride naturally attracted the attention of those companies already involved in chlorination processes. The quantities of by-product hydrogen chloride available were often an embarrassment and the relatively facile production of vinyl chloride from acetylene and anhydrous HCl, over a supported mercuric chloride catalyst, provided a valuable outlet. 

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