| 摘要 |
<p>Ethylene oxide is made by contacting ethylene and molecular oxygen with a silver catalyst at 150 DEG to 450 DEG , preferably at 200 DEG to 300 DEG C., 1 to 35 ats. absolute, in the presence of at least 15 mol. per cent of methane based on the total feed to the reaction zone. The make-up oxygen is preferably introduced into the system together with one or more inert gases at a concentration above 85 and preferably 90 mol. per cent oxygen. The total feed to the reaction zone contains preferably not more than 12 mol. per cent oxygen, 10 to 40 and preferably 20 to 25 mol. per cent ethylene of the total feed. The ethane content of the ethylene should be below 1 mol. per cent, preferably below 0.2 mol. per cent, which may be achieved by subjecting the ethylene feed to purification by contacting with a molecular sieve. The invention is described with reference to a flow sheet (not shown) and contains examples which show the improvement which is achieved by the present invention over the prior art wherein either no methane is employed and the deleterious effect of the presence of ethane in the ethylene is demonstrated.</p> |
