In the medical, pharmaceutical and many industrial fields, ethylene oxide (EO) sterilizers have become key equipment to ensure product quality and safety with their excellent sterilization effect and pervasive penetration ability. However, looking back on the production history of ethylene oxide, it is not difficult to find that the changes in its production process are closely linked to the progress of environmental protection concepts. In particular, although the early production method of the chlorohydrin method has met market demand to a certain extent, its inherent disadvantages ultimately prompted technological innovation and upgrading.

As an early production method of ethylene oxide, the chlorohydrin method once occupied a place in the market due to its relatively simple process flow and low technical threshold. It uses chlorine and ethylene to react to produce chloroethanol, and then produces ethylene oxide through the dehydration reaction of chloroethanol. However, with the deepening of production and the awakening of environmental awareness, the disadvantages of the chlorohydrin method have gradually emerged.

The chlorohydrin method produces a large amount of by-products and wastewater during the production process. These wastes often contain harmful substances and cause serious pollution to the environment. With increasingly stringent environmental regulations, this production method obviously no longer meets the requirements of sustainable development. Secondly, the chlorohydrin method is highly corrosive to production equipment, which not only increases production costs, but also shortens the service life of the equipment and increases the difficulty of maintenance.

Faced with the dual pressures of environmental protection and cost, the chlorohydrin method has gradually lost its market competitiveness. With the continuous emergence of new technologies and the popularization of environmental protection concepts, more and more manufacturers have begun to seek more environmentally friendly and efficient production methods. In the end, the chlorohydrin method was replaced by more advanced production processes and became a mark of history.

As the mainstream process for the current industrial production of ethylene oxide, the direct oxidation of ethylene with silver as a catalyst has won wide recognition in the market with its high efficiency and environmental protection characteristics. This method not only reduces the generation of by-products and the discharge of wastewater, but also reduces the corrosiveness of equipment, thereby reducing production costs and maintenance difficulties. This innovation not only promotes the advancement of ethylene oxide production technology, but also injects new vitality into the development of industrial ethylene oxide sterilizers.

With the continuous innovation of ethylene oxide production technology and the increasingly stringent environmental regulations, industrial ethylene oxide sterilizers will also usher in a broader development prospect. On the one hand, sterilizer manufacturers will continue to optimize product design and production processes to improve the sterilization efficiency and reliability of equipment; on the other hand, they will also actively develop new environmentally friendly materials and technologies to reduce the impact on the environment during the sterilization process.

In addition, with the continuous advancement of science and technology and the continuous expansion of application fields, industrial ethylene oxide sterilizers will also develop in a more intelligent and automated direction. By introducing advanced sensors, control systems and data analysis technologies, precise control and real-time monitoring of the sterilization process can be achieved to ensure the sterility and safety of the product.

The rise and fall of the chlorohydrin method not only witnessed the changes and upgrades in the ethylene oxide production process, but also reflected the human pursuit and practice of environmental protection and sustainable development concepts. With the widespread application of advanced production processes such as oxidation methods and increasingly stringent environmental regulations, industrial ethylene oxide sterilizers will usher in a broader development space and a better future. We have reason to believe that in the days to come, industrial ethylene oxide sterilizers will continue to escort human health and safety.