Question

How is acetic acid prepared from acetylene?

Answer 1

Acetylene is first converted to acetaldehyde by passing through 40% H₂SO₄ at 60°C in the presence of 1% HgSO₄.

\[\ce{C2H2 + H2O ->[H2SO4(dil.)][HgSO4] CH3CHO}\]

The acetaldehyde is then oxidised to acetic acid in the presence of the catalyst manganous acetate at 70°C.

\[\ce{\underset{Acetaldehyde}{CH3CHO} + O2 ->[\Delta][Catalyst] \underset{Acetic acid}{2CH3COOH}}\]