Ethene

Properties
Structural, Chemical and Physical
• General formula CnH2n
• Non-polar
• Planar
• Double bond (alkene), reactive
• Molecule held together by dispersion forces
• Flammable
• Molecular Weight 28.08
• Sweet odor
• Heat of fusion 119.5 kJ/kg
• Colourless gas
• Heat of Combustion 47.183 MJ/kg
• Boiling point -104 oC
• Enthalpy of Formation 52.32 kJ/mol
• Melting point -169 oC
 Reactions
Since ethene is an alkene, it follows some characteristic reactions
of alkenes.
Such reactions include:
• Addition reactions
– With water, halogens, hydrogen halides, hydrogen
- Halogenation and polymerization are both addition reactions
• Oxidation reactions
- When using potassium permanganate as the oxidant, products of
reaction are dependent on the pH condition of the KMnO4
- Acidic = purple to colourless
- Basic/neutral = purple to dark green with brown precipitate
• Combustion reaction
- The usual. Reacts with oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapour
formed.
 How is ethene manufactured?
• Two sources:
- Natural Gas
- Crude Oil
• Thermal/Steam cracking
- Process:
1. Feedstock and steam fed into coiled tube in furnance, 750 – 900oC.
2. Then passed into cooler at -100 oC. Gases then separated by distillation.
 … and continuing
• An example of a typical cracking reaction: Ethane forms ethene
through the cracking procedure.
C2H6 (g)  C2H4 (g) + H2 (g) ∆H = + 138 KJ/mol
• Maximum yield at:
- High temperature
- Pressure just below the atmosphere pressure

Other methods of manufacture:

• Dehydration of ethanol
- Presence of a catalyst (sulfuric acid, aluminium oxide, zeolite catalyst)
• Using cellulose as a raw material
- Too costly. In every singly way imaginable.
 Hazards of ethene
Kaboom?
• Escapes into the environment by:
- From its production
- Cigarette smoke
- Waste incineration
- Vehicle wastes
• Hazards of use
- Gas state – Especially highly flammable and explosive
- Prolonged exposure can harm the brain, if inhaled
- Liquid state – Very cold, risk of frostbite
• Sniffing ethene result in:
- light-headedness, dizziness, unconsciousness, and suffocation
 Environmental Hazards
• Low concentrations – No negative harm
• High concentrations – Affect growth of plant life.
• Ethene = Ripening agent
Causes – Fruit to ripen quickly
- Leaves to fall off more quickly
- Stunted growth
• Disposing:
- Via burning preferable to releasing into atmosphere
 Industrial Uses
• Fruits and Plastic
• Fruits
- Ethene produced by fruits
- Allows the fruit to ripen
- Rate of ripening can be control by controlling ethene levels
 Polymerization
• Polymerization = reaction where monomers join together to form a
large chain molecule
= formation of plastic
• Monomers such as ethene, vinyl chloride and styrene polymerize to
form polymers which can be used for many applications.
• Polyethene – Used in plastics
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) – thermoplastic
- additives sometimes added
- used in wire coatings, packaging and
many more
• Polystyrene – hard
- transparent
- found in food cups and plastic containers etc
 More more more and more uses

• As antifreeze
- Main component - ethylene glycol
- Aqueous ethylene glycol used in car radiators

• Formation of ethanol
- Ethene reacts with water in the presence of a catalyst to
form ethanol
- Ethanol then used as solvent in :
- Inks
- Cosmetics
- Pharmaceuticals
Thank you (: