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| Synthesis |
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Epoxyethane is industrially manufactured by reacting Ethene with Oxygen in the presence of a Silver catalyst. The process is most effective when carried out at a temperature of about 200-300oC and at a pressure of around 15 atmospheres. The equation for the reaction is shown below 
The yield for this reaction is reasonably high as it is between 70 and 80%. There have been other methods for epoxyethane production proposed but none really had a high enough yield for them to achieve any industrial importance. The reaction is exothermic and the temperature has to be carefuly controlled to prevent the main side reaction which is the combustion of ethene to carbon dioxide and water. |