Electrophilic hydration is the act of adding electrophilic hydrogen from a non-nucleophilic strong acid (a reusable catalyst, examples of which include sulfuric and phosphoric acid) and applying appropriate temperatures to break the alkene's double bond. After a carbocation is formed, water bonds with the carbocation to form a 1º, 2º, or 3º alcohol on the alkane.
This page looks at the manufacture of alcohols by the direct hydration of alkenes, concentrating mainly on the hydration of ethene to make ethanol. It then compares that method with making ethanol by fermentation.