Location: RER - Europe
This dataset represents the hydration of 1 kg of ethylene, which is a multi-output process which delivers the co-products ethanol 99.7% in H2O and diethyl ether 99.95% in H2O.
Depending on its water content, preparation, and final use, several ethanol products exist on the market. The 99.7% alcohol (often referred to as absolute alcohol) is used extensively for tinctures and pharmaceutical preparations, as a solvent and preservative, as an antiseptic, and in perfume. Ethanol is an important functional component of alcoholic beverages, which are produced by fermentation of fermentable carbohydrates. The fermentation broth itself may constitute (after processing and aging) a beverage, e.g., in the case of beer or wine, or the alcohol can be concentrated from the broth to produce high-alcohol-containing spirits. If the alcohol is used for purposes other than as a beverage, it is denatured by the addition of substances such as methanol, pyridine, formaldehyde, or sublimate. The denatured alcohol is then used by industry and commerce, principally as a solvent, as a raw material for manufacturing chemicals, or as a fuel.
Diethyl ether (CH3CH2–O–CH2CH3) is one of the most important ethers. It is a clear, mobile liquid with a sweetish, slightly pungent, characteristic odor. It is completeley miscible with common organic solvents, but only partially miscible with water. Two grades of diethyl ether are commercially available: technical-grade ether and anesthetic ether. There are no universally accepted specifications for technical-grade ether, but it is conventionally free of peroxides. Anhydrous technical-grade ether has a maximum water content of 500 mg/kg. Anesthetic ether has a neutral reaction, is free from foreign odors, passes the tests for peroxides and aldehydes, and has a maximum water content of 0.2 %. Diethyl ether is a good solvent for many oils, fats, resins, alkaloids, odorants, and dyes and, therefore, is widely used as a solvent and as an extractant. When mixed with ethanol, diethyl ether is used to gel nitrocellulose and to dissolve collodion wool. Ether is used as a reaction medium in the laboratory and in industry due to its chemical stability, low boiling point, and solvent properties for organometallic compounds (Grignard reagents).
Ethylene can be hydrated in two ways: by indirect hydration or by direct hydration. This dataset represents the direct hydration process. The data for raw materials, energy consumption and emissions are based on literature data. The infrastructure is included with a default value.
References:
Sutter, J. (2007) Life Cycle Inventories of Petrochemical Solvents. ecoinvent report No. 22. Swiss Centre for Life Cycle Inventories, Dübendorf, 2007.
Undefined unit processes (UPRs) are the unlinked, multi-product activity datasets that form the basis for all of the system models available in the ecoinvent database. This is the way the datasets are obtained and entered into the database by the data providers. These activity datasets are useful for investigating the environmental impacts of a specific activity (gate-to-gate), without regard to its upstream or downstream impacts.