Acetoxylation

Name:
Acetoxylation
Detailed information:
A method of synthesizing ethylene glycol in which ethylene is reacted with acetic acid in the presence of a catalyst, such as tellurium bromide, resulting in the formation of mixed mono- and diacetates; this is followed by hydrolysis to ethylene glycol and acetic acid, with up to 95% yield of the glycol. It is thus considerably more efficient than the ethylene oxide method.