Kinetics of the reactions of ethylene oxide with water and ethylene glycols

Abstract

Abstract This study of the water‐contamination reactions of ethylene oxide was conducted by Arthur D. Little, Inc. with funding from, and under the auspices of, the Ethylene Oxide Industry Council, part of the American Chemistry Council. Significant experimental and technical contributions were also made by staff from Shell Chemicals' Westhollow Technology Center in Houston, Texas, and Union Carbide Corporation's Research Center in South Charleston, West Virginia. Unique fourth‐order kinetics for the reactions of ethylene oxide with water, and ethylene oxide with ethylene glycols were derived and validated, as were kinetics for the reactions of neat ethylene oxide and the decomposition of ethylene glycols. The latter data was incorporated into a reaction model useful for the determination of ethylene oxide storage stability and pressure relief system design under water‐contamination scenarios.