Process intermediate storage operational problem

The first reaction involves the partial oxidation of ethylene over a Ag-gauze catalyst. Since both reactions are highly exothermic, they need to be controlled carefully. More important from a safety point of view, a water spill into an ethylene oxide storage tank could lead to an accident similar to the Bhopal incident. Yet it is common in processes with two reaction steps to store the intermediates so as to permit the products to be generated continuously, even when maintenance problems shut down the first reaction operation. 

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