Ethylene is a colorless, flammable gas with a chemical formula of C₂H₄. It is the simplest olefin. The following is a detailed introduction to ethylene:
1. Source: Ethylene exists in small amounts in plants and is a metabolite of plants, which is converted from methionine under sufficient oxygen supply. In industry, ethylene is mainly separated from the gas produced by oil refineries and petrochemical plants.
2. Uses: Ethylene is a basic chemical raw material for synthetic fibers, synthetic rubber, synthetic plastics (such as polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride), and synthetic ethanol (alcohol). In addition, it is also used to make vinyl chloride, styrene, ethylene oxide, acetic acid, acetaldehyde, ethanol and explosives. In agriculture, ethylene can be used as a ripening agent for fruits and vegetables.
3. Chemical properties: Ethylene has active chemical properties and is prone to addition reactions and addition polymerization reactions. For example, ethylene can undergo addition reactions with bromine water to produce colorless 1,2-dibromoethane. Under certain conditions, one of the unsaturated C═C double bonds in the ethylene molecule will break to form polymer compounds such as polyethylene.
4. Physiological effects: Ethylene is a plant hormone that has many physiological effects, such as promoting fruit ripening, promoting leaf senescence, inducing adventitious roots and root hairs, and breaking the dormancy of plant seeds and buds.
5. Industrial production methods: The industrial ethylene production methods include petroleum hydrocarbon cracking, ethanol catalytic dehydration, coke oven gas separation, etc. Due to the abundance of oil and natural gas resources, large-scale production of ethylene is low-cost and high-quality, so petroleum cracking is the main method for producing ethylene.
In summary, ethylene is an important chemical raw material and plant hormone, which is widely used in industry and agriculture.
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