Industrial Processes

What are the industrial conditions for the production of ethanol?

• A pressure of 60-70atm

• A temperature of 300°C

• A phosphoric acid catalyst

Why is the temperature 300°C?

• The reaction is exothermic so lower temperature favour the forward reaction and it means a better yield

• However, low temperatures mean a slower rate of reaction so 300°C is a compromise between maximum yield and a faster reaction

Why is the pressure 60-70atm?

• Higher pressure favours the forward reaction and increases the yield so 60-70atm is used

• Higher pressure also means higher rate of reaction, so ideally you would want an even higher pressure but it’s expensive to produce as you would need stronger pipes and containers

• 60-70atm is a compromise between max yield and minimum expense

What do you do to save money and raw materials in the production of ethanol?

• Only a small proportion of ethene reacted each time

• So, the unreacted ethene is separated and recycled back into the reactor

• Thanks to this, around 95% of ethene is eventually converted to ethanol

What are the industrial conditions for the production of methanol?

• Pressure of 50-100atm

• Temperature of 250°C

• Catalyst of a mixture of copper, zinc oxide and aluminium oxide