The operating conditions for both processes are similar. The strongly exothermic reaction is conducted in a tubular reactor with a fixed-bed catalyst at 175-200°C and 5-10 bar. The explosion limit restricts the 0, content in the feed mixture, so that the ethylene conversion (ca. 10%) is also relatively small. The acetic acid conversion is 20-35%, with selectivities to vinyl acetate of up to 94% (based on C,H,) and about 98-99% (based on AcOH). The main byproduct, CO, from the total ox- idation of ethylene, is removed with a carbonate wash