A study of catalytic actions at solid surfaces.—III. The hydrogenation of acetaldehyde and the dehydrogenation of ethyl alcohol in presence of finely-divided metals

Abstract

Until recently, alcohol was always produced by fermenting saccharine materials; acetic acid was obtained as a by-product in making charcoal; acetone was prepared by heating calcium acetate. During the war, both acetic acid and acetone were called for in quantities far larger than would be supplied by such methods; alcohol was also in special demand in connection with the manufacture of cordite; now it is coming into prominence as a possible motor fuel. The effect has been to bring synthetic processes of preparing such compounds to the fore; it is interesting that the methods introduced have nearly all been devised by French chemists. As far back as 1863, Berthelot was able to show that ethylene obtained from alchohol could be reconverted into alcohol by absorbing the gas in sulphuric acid. The direct synthesis of alcohol from inorganic materials was accomplished when he obtained acetylene by combining carbon with hydrogen at the temperature of the electric arc, as it was possible to hydrogenate acetylene to ethylene.