Dehydration of Ethanol

概述

Ethanol is dehydrated to ethylene by concentrated sulfuric acid at 170 C or by passing over heated alumina. This elimination reaction removes water from adjacent carbon atoms to form the C=C double bond. At lower temperatures (140 C), diethyl ether forms instead via intermolecular dehydration.

参与者

日常示例

Brazil produces bio-ethylene from sugarcane ethanol using this dehydration, making green polyethylene for sustainable packaging.

工业重要性

乙醇脱水制乙烯是生物乙烯的重要生产路线，在甘蔗乙醇资源丰富的巴西等地具有商业化应用。相比传统的石脑油裂解制乙烯，该路线可利用可再生资源，减少化石燃料依赖，但经济性受乙醇与乙烯价格比影响。