Editing Diethyl ether (section)

== Production ==
Most diethyl ether is produced as a byproduct of the vapor-phase [[Hydration reaction|hydration]] of [[ethylene]] to make [[ethanol]]. This process uses solid-supported [[phosphoric acid]] [[Catalysis|catalysts]] and can be adjusted to make more ether if the need arises:<ref name="kirk"/> Vapor-phase [[Dehydration reaction|dehydration]] of ethanol over some [[Aluminium oxide|alumina]] catalysts can give diethyl ether yields of up to 95%.<ref>{{cite book |title=Ethyl Ether, Chem. Economics Handbook |year=1991 |publisher=SRI International |location=Menlo Park, Calif}}</ref>
:{{chem2|2 CH3CH2OH  → (CH3CH2)2O + H2O}}

Diethyl ether can be prepared both in laboratories and on an industrial scale by the acid ether synthesis.<ref>{{cite book|last=Cohen|first=Julius Berend|title=A Class-book of Organic Chemistry, Volume 1|year=1920|publisher=Macmillan and Co.|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/aclassbookorgan00cohegoog/page/n53 39]|url=https://archive.org/details/aclassbookorgan00cohegoog|quote=the structure of ethyl alcohol cohen julius diethyl ether.}}</ref>