Hydrothermal conversion of ethylene carbonate to ethylene glycol

•Direct and efficient conversion of ethylene carbonate to ethylene glycol in aqueous media was developed.•The transformation of ethylene carbonate provided high selectivity and high yield.•No any catalysts and additives were added in the process.

A novel process for the conversion of ethylene carbonate (EC) to ethylene glycol (EG) in high temperature water was investigated. As a result, even there is no external catalyst and additive, the reaction of EC proceeded well and provided the desired EG in 99% yield with 25% water filling at 250 °C for 2 h. Moreover, only CO2 as by-product was observed in the process. High temperature water exhibits an unique merits and plays an catalytic role for EC conversion. From viewpoint of practice, this work provides a simple, environmentally benign, catalyst/additive-free process for the production of ethylene glycol from ethylene carbonate.