New Electrochemical Technology for the Production of Ethylene Glycol

9361728性别这是第一阶段的小企业创新研究征集奖。 在先前的努力中，开发了基于甲醛在石墨阴极处的电化学加氢二聚的方法。 石油价格的下降，以及由此导致的乙烯价格的下降，乙烯是目前乙二醇主要工艺的原料，使得新工艺在经济上没有吸引力。 这项工作是早期工作的延伸，旨在减少所需的资本和运营成本。 修改包括操作在一个未分割的，窄间隙的细胞与非催化电极，从而消除了对昂贵的膜和催化剂的需要，使用溶剂萃取产品隔离和采用气体扩散电极。 乙二醇是一种重要的日用化学品。 它是聚酯的增塑剂，是使用中的主要防冻剂化合物，并在化学加工中有其他应用。

9361728 Genders This is a Phase I award under the Small Business Innovation Research Solicitation. In a previous effort, a process based on the electrochemical hydrodimerization of formaldehyde at a graphite cathode was developed. A drop in oil prices, and a resultant drop in ethylene prices, the feedstock for the major present process for ethylene glycol, made the new process economically unattractive. This effort is an extension of the earlier work designed to reduce the capital and operating costs required. Modifications include operating in an undivided, narrow-gap cell with noncatalytic electrodes thus eliminating the need for costly membranes and catalysts; using solvent extraction for product isolation and employing gas-diffusion electrodes. Ethylene glycol is an important commodity chemical. It is a precurser to polyester, is the principal antifreeze compound in use, and has other applications in chemical processing.