Method for continuous production of ethylene glycol from carbohydrates

TLDR: In this paper, a continuous method for converting carbohydrates to ethylene and propylene glycol was proposed, where the carbohydrates are mixed with water and passed through a reactor at a temperature of hydrolyzing the carbohydrate mixture at least partially to monosaccharides, the reactor having a first zone A comprising a retro-aldol catalyst and a second zone B comprising a reducing catalyst.

Abstract: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cost-effective method to produce ethylene glycol from renewable resources.SOLUTION: This invention relates to a continuous method for converting carbohydrates to ethylene and propylene glycol, wherein: the carbohydrates are mixed with water and passed through a reactor at a temperature of hydrolyzing the carbohydrate mixture at least partially to monosaccharides, the reactor having a first zone A comprising a retro-aldol catalyst and a second zone B comprising a reducing catalyst; the aldose is converted in the first zone into glycolaldehyde by the retro-aldol catalyst; in the presence of hydrogen, the glycolaldehyde is converted to ethylene glycol in the second zone of the reactor; the reaction products are removed from the reactor; and the ethylene glycol is recovered.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1