Synthetic ethanol production, sulfuric

Diethyl sulfate is manufactured from ethylene and sulfuric acid. It is used principally as an intermediate (ethylating agent) in the manufacture of dyes, pigments and textile chemicals, and as a finishing agent in textile production. It is an intennediate in the indirect hydration (strong acid) process for the preparation of synthetic ethanol from ethylene. No data were available on levels of occupational exposure to diethyl sulfate (lARC, 1992a). 

The result of the reaction of sulfur tetrafluoride with alcohols strongly depends on the structure of the alcohol. Simple aliphatic alcohols, such as methanol, ethanol and propan-2-ol, give alkyl ethers as the main product with only small amounts of fluoroalkanes.41 42 Yields of fluorinated products increase with increasing acidity of the hydroxy group and, in general, the reaction is only synthetically useful with alcohols equally or more acidic than tropolone (p K, = 6.42). 

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