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How is ethanol produced from ethylene and steam?
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alcohol
The answer involves lighting liquid on fire.
The industrial production of ethanol from ethylene is achieved through a process known as hydration.
In this chemical synthesis, a mixture of ethylene and a large excess of steam is passed over an acidic catalyst at high temperature and pressure. The resulting product is obtained as a dilute aqueous solution, which must then be concentrated through fractional distillation to reach the desired purity.1