Microbial Ethanol, Its Polymer Polyethylene, and Applications

Abstract

Polyethylene (PE is an important engineering material. It is produced through the ethylene polymerization process. Ethylene can be produced through steam cracking of ethane, steam cracking of naphtha or heavy oils, or ethanol dehydration. With the increase of the oil price, bioethylene, produced through ethanol dehydration, is a more important production route for ethylene. Green PE, which does not pollute the environment with CO2 or nonuseable by-products, is made from bioethylene as a monomer. Microbial ethanol production techniques derived from different feedstocks, the chemistry and process of bioethylene production, and the status of green PE research are the main topics of this chapter. Different pretreatment techniques used during microbial ethanol production are described. The research status of cellulose ethanol is given in detail. On the basis of the ethanol dehydration chemistry principle, the progress of research and development on catalysts and the process for dehydration of ethanol to ethylene is also described.