Key ideas1 of 3
Steam makes an alcohol
Ethene reacts with steam to form ethanol. Industrial hydration uses a phosphoric acid catalyst, a high temperature of about 300°C and a high pressure, commonly 60–70 atmospheres. H and OH add across the C=C bond, which becomes C–C. One possible alcohol structure for each alkene is shown; for longer chains, different OH positions are possible, and their positional names are not required here.
