Ethylene Oxide

Abstract The article contains sections titled: 1 Introduction 1.1 History 2 Physical Properties 3 Chemical Properties 3.1 Decomposition 3.2 Disproportionation 3.3 Addition to Compounds with a Labile Hydrogen Atom 3.4 Polymerization to Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) 3.5 Reaction with Water 3.6 Other Reactions 3.6.1 Addition to Double Bonds 3.6.2 Catalytic Isomerization to Acetaldehyde 3.6.3 Reaction with Grignard Reagents 3.6.4 Reaction with Dimethyl Ether 4 EO Production Technologies 4.1 EO History and Air Versus Oxygen Process 4.2 Oxygen‐Based Oxidation Process 4.3 Ethylene Epoxidation Catalysts 4.3.1 Catalyst Support Materials 4.3.2 EO Catalyst Development History 4.3.3 Aging of the Catalyst 4.3.4 Nature of Oxygen Species 4.3.4.1 Mechanism 1: Dioxygen as the Epoxidizing Species 4.3.4.2 Mechanism 2: Atomic Oxygen as the Epoxidizing Species 4.3.5 Kinetics 4.4 Key Technology Considerations 4.4.1 Reactor Tubes and Catalyst Bed 4.4.2 Water and Hydrocarbon Cooling 4.4.3 Reactor Conditions and Improvements 4.4.3.1 Methane Ballast Gas 4.4.3.2 Ethylene Recovery Systems 4.4.3.3 Carbon Dioxide Concentrations and Optimization 4.4.3.4 Inlet Oxygen Levels and Flammability 4.4.3.5 Intensification of Reactor Conditions 4.4.3.6 High Purity EO Production 4.4.4 Byproducts 4.4.5 Material of Construction 5 Uses 6 Quality Specifications and Analysis 6.1 Analysis 7 Safety Considerations 7.1 Explosion and Fire Control 7.2 Process Safety Hazard of Hydrolysis of Concentrated EO/Water Mixtures 7.3 Risk of Reaction due to Contaminants in Pure EO 8 Storage and Transportation 9 Economic Aspects 10 Toxicology and Occupational Health 10.1 Personal Protective Equipment 10.2 Toxicity 11 Environmental Protection and Ecology 12 Sustainability References