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Ethylene
oxide (C2H4O) is a widely used petrochemical
compound derived from ethylene. This is
one of the widely used organic oxides. Ethylene
oxide was first prepared in 1859 by Wurtz
from 2-Chlor
oethanol (ethylene chlorohydrin)
and aqueous potassium hydroxide. Lefort
achieved direct oxidation of ethylene-to-ethylene
oxide using a silver catalyst.Although early
manufacture of the ethylene o
xide was accomplished
by the chlorohydrin process, the direct
oxidation has been widely used almost exclusively
since 1940. Today about 9.6 x 106 tones
of ethylene oxide are produced each year
worldwide.According to the IUPAC nomenclature
a compound containing oxygen atom linked
to two of the carbon atoms in a carbon chain
is denoted by the prefix ‘epoxy’. Ethylene
oxide is derived from the base organic compound
ethane in which the two carbon atoms are
linked to one oxygen atom. So ethylene oxide
is known as epoxy ethane. Ethylene oxide
is not a naturally occurring material. The
basic raw material for the manufacture of
ethylene oxide is ethylene, petrochemical
compound obtained in the crude oil distillation.
The primary use of ethylene oxide is in
the manufacture of derivatives such as ethylene
glycol, epoxy paints, surfactants, ethanolamines
and acrylo nitrile.
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