Hydration of Ethylene

Production of Materials‎ > 3. Renewable Ethanol‎ > ‎

Describe the addition of water to ethylene resulting in the production of ethanol and identify the need for a catalyst in this process and the catalyst used

  • Hydration: The process of adding water molecules, or the equivalent of water molecules, to a substance.
  • Ethylene can be hydrated to produce ethanol when heated with a dilute sulfuric acid (H2SO4) catalyst:
  • The hydration of ethene is an example of an addition reaction.