Industrial implementation
Hydration of olefins

The production of alcohols by hydration of olefins has essentially been marked by the gradual replacement of indirect hydration processes (sulfuric route) by those of direct hydration in the presence of solid acid catalysts, although the latter are active at higher temperatures than sulfuric acid and, as a result, alcohol formation is thermodynamically less favored. It turns out, however, that they have many advantages over H₂SO₄ from the point of view of industrial handling and processing.

To limit the formation of by-products and maximize reactor output, a number of operating variables must be kept within a relatively narrow set of values. First of all, the temperature range is determined by the activity of the chosen catalyst. The operating conditions (pressure, olefin/water molar ratio, space velocity and recycle rate) are then defined to optimize alcohol production...