New Process to Make Para-Xylene from Ethylene

CENTC investigator Maurice Brookhart and co-workers at the University of North Carolina have reported a method to selectively prepare para-xylene from only ethylene. Para-xylene, which is currently mainly manufactured by catalytic reforming of petroleum, is used in the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) that is used as polyester fibers, resins and films for numerous applications. This new method could be used to manufacture para-xylene from natural gas or biomass sources and thus reduce reliance on oil.

Read the paper from Journal of the American Chemical Society, and the C&E News Science Concentrate.