New Electrochemical Technology for the Production of Ethylene Glycol

这是小企业创新研究招标项目的第一阶段奖励。在以前的努力中，开发了一种基于石墨阴极上甲醛的电化学加氢二聚的工艺。石油价格的下跌，以及由此导致的乙二醇原料乙烯价格的下跌，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。改进的方法包括：使用非催化电极，在一个未分割的窄间隙电池中运行，从而消除了对昂贵的膜和催化剂的需求；采用溶剂萃取分离产物，采用气体扩散电极。乙二醇是一种重要的商品化学品。它是聚酯的前体，是使用中的主要防冻化合物，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.