Ethylene oxide is the simplest ring ether in structure, it is a gas at room temperature, has the smell of ether, and inhalation of ethylene oxide can cause anesthetic poisoning.
Ethylene oxide is a broad-spectrum, highly effective gas sterilization disinfectant. It has strong penetration of disinfected items, can reach the deep part of the item, and can kill several pathogenic microorganisms, including bacterial propagules, spores, viruses and fungi. It is widely used in medical disinfection and industrial sterilization, and is often used for gas fumigation and disinfection of heat-unstable drugs and surgical equipment that cannot be sterilized by textiles and other methods, such as leather, cotton products, chemical fiber fabrics, precision instruments, biological products, paper, books, documents, some drugs, rubber products, etc. Ethylene oxide-carbon dioxide (the ratio of the two is 90:10) or ethylene oxide-dichlorodifluoromethane mixtures are usually used, which are mainly used for disinfection of hospitals and precision instruments.
Ethylene oxide can be prepared by direct oxidation of ethylene with air or oxygen in the gas phase at pressures of 200 300 and 1 3 MPa through a silver catalyst. Oxidation catalysts generally contain 10% silver 30, and the effective co-catalysts are alkali metals and alkaline earth metals (such as iron, calcium, etc.). The commonly used carrier is -alumina or silicon carbide, which generates oxidized gas after the reaction, which is absorbed with water in the absorption tower, and the unreacted ethylene is recycled back to the reactor, and the absorption liquid is desorbed and distilled to obtain the product.