Alcohols Advanced 3. Ethanol from the Hydration of Ethene.
This video takes a fairly detailed look at the preparation of industrial alcohol by the hydration of ethene using phosphoric acid catalyst on a bed of diatomacious earth. It provides a flow diagram of the industrial plant, looks at the catalysed electrophilic addition mechanism mechanism, examines the equilibrium considerations and mentions the conversion of acetylene (also present in the mixture) to ethanol.
By Frank Scullion
