Synthetically produced ethanol is an important industrial commodity used for various purposes, including as a solvent (especially for substances intended for human contact or consumption); in coatings, inks, and personal-care products; for sterilization; and as a fuel. Industrial ethanol is a petrochemical synthesized by the hydrolysis of ethylene:

Some of the product is converted to diethyl ether in the undesired side reaction

The combined feed to the reactor contains 53.7 mole% C₂H₄, 36.7% H₂O and the balance nitrogen, and enters the reactor at 310°C. The reactor operates isothermally at 310°C. An ethylene conversion of 5% is achieved, and the yield of ethanol (moles ethanol produced/mole ethylene consumed) is 0.900.

Data for Diethyl Ether

(a) Calculate the reactor heating or cooling requirement in kJ/mol feed.

(b) Why would the reactor be designed to yield such a low conversion of ethylene? What processing step (or steps) would probably follow the reactor in a commercial implementation of this process?

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C,H4(g) + H20(v)=C,H5OH(v)