The Formation of Ethylene Glycol from Methanol–Formaldehyde Solutions

Abstract

These facts stimulate development of new, energetically efficient ethylene glycol synthesis technologies. A possible one is radiation-chemical synthesis using a dual-purpose heterogeneous nuclear reactor in which the graphite moderator is replaced with a methanol–formaldehyde mixture and the heat carrier is steam flowing past fuel elements. A technological analysis of this system demonstrated that, at a reactor thermal power of 2.5 GW, it is possible to profitably manufacture 80 thousand tons of ethylene glycol per year along with producing 677 MW electric power.