Advances in synthesis of ethylene glycol via ethylene carbonate

The traditional direct hydration process to produce ethylene glycol consumes a large amount of water and energy. To overcome these shortcomings, a new technology catalytically synthesizing ethylene glycol from ethylene carbonate has been developed to save production cost, which is high promising for industrial application. The catalyst systems applied in the hydrolysis process of ethylene carbonate are summarized from the aspects of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, respectively. The corresponding research directions and development trends are proposed as well. The new heterogeneous catalysts are proposed to solve the problems existing in the process of hydrolysis in the end.