| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/K93280/01 |
| Title: |
GAS PHASE ELECTROSYNTHESIS OF ETHYLENE GLYCOL AT SPE ELECTRODES |
| Principal Investigator: |
Doherty, Dr A |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
School of Chemistry |
| Organisation: |
Newcastle University |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 June 1997 |
Ends: |
31 May 1998 |
Value (£): |
42,875
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Electrochemical Science & Eng. |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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Ethylene glycol is a high tonnage industrial chemical. The homogeneous catalytic conversion of syngas generated formaldehyde to ethylene glycol has received active interest recently due to commercial importance of this product. The electrosythesis of ethylene glycol from formaldehyde in aqueous electrolyte has been demonstrated recently but is not commercially viable due to problems with product recovery and purification. This programme of research is designed to take advantage of both the clean and simple electrochemical approach and the convenience of gas phase processing by developing a gas phase SPE electrochemical cell to effect the gas phase electrosynthesis of ethylene glycol from formaldehyde under solvent, organic electrolyte and stabiliser free conditions. These features, along with the ease of product recovery (by selective vacuum condensation) may result in a direct, catalytic free, economic and clean route to ethylene glycol using renewable carbon sources. We believe this technology may be applied to other reactions such as the nucleophilic coupling of aldehydes to carbon dioxide for the formation of alpha-hydroxy acids as those used as monomers for biodegradable polymers. We also propose to carry out a technical and commercial assessment of this technology.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.ncl.ac.uk |