By the end of the 194Os, Du Pont had already been able to show
that CO hydrogenation in aqueous cobalt salt solutions leads to
ethylene glycol. In the 1970s, UCC investigated synthesis gas
conversion using homogeneous rhodium carbonyl catalyst
systems with numerous salt promoters and nitrogen-containing
Lewis bases. Ethylene glycol, 1,2-propanediol, and glycerine can
be produced in a high-pressure (1400- 3400 bar) reaction at
125-350°C with a total selectivity of up to 70%. Both the