Adiponitrile from acrylonitrile

TAA+ have been reported to enhance dimerization within the potential window . Specifically TAA+ favor the formation of adiponitrile from acrylonitrile 5-l9). However, since TAA+ are inactive in this potential region their involvement may be different than described above. 

In the previously described reactions, the basicity of anion radicals and their reactions with proton donors was emphasized. In the absence of viable proton donors or even in their presence, if the anion radical is relatively stable, radical coupling may be the dominant reaction. Thus even in aqueous solution, the anion radicals of alkenes substituted with strongly electron withdrawing moieties may undergo coupling in preference to protonation. The synthesis of adiponitrile from acrylonitrile (Scheme 71) is an outstanding example [118]. 

In aqueous solution the tetraalkylammonium ions are adsorbed at the electrode, where they form a layer with a low proton activity. This property is used in the commercial production of adiponitrile from acrylonitrile (Chapter 31). The adsorption of the ions... 

Other products of an alkali amalgam decomposition process are sodium sulfide from polysulfide solutions, sodium dithionide from hydrogen sulfide, hydra-zobenzene or aniline from nitrobenzene, and adiponitrile from acrylonitrile. Last but not least alkali metals can be prepared directly from the amalgam [33]. 

In 1965, the Monsanto Company started production of adiponitrile from acrylonitrile via an electrochemical route [Equation (26.113)]. Adiponitrile was then converted to either adipic acid or hexamethylenediamine by chemical means these two compounds are reactants in the production of nylon 66. 

A.sahi Chemical EHD Processes. In the late 1960s, Asahi Chemical Industries in Japan developed an alternative electrolyte system for the electroreductive coupling of acrylonitrile. The catholyte in the Asahi divided cell process consisted of an emulsion of acrylonitrile and electrolysis products in a 10% aqueous solution of tetraethyl ammonium sulfate. The concentration of acrylonitrile in the aqueous phase for the original Monsanto process was 15—20 wt %, but the Asahi process uses only about 2 wt %. Asahi claims simpler separation and purification of the adiponitrile from the catholyte. A cation-exchange membrane is employed with dilute sulfuric acid in the anode compartment. The cathode is lead containing 6% antimony, and the anode is the same alloy but also contains 0.7% silver (45). The current efficiency is of 88—89%, with an adiponitrile selectivity of 91%. This process, started by Asahi in 1971, at Nobeoka City, Japan, is also operated by the RhcJ)ne Poulenc subsidiary, Rhodia, in Bra2il under Hcense from Asahi. 

A synthesis of great industrial interest is the electrochemical anodic reductive dimerisation of two molecules of acrylonitrile to give adiponitrile, from which adipic acid and 1,6-hexanediamine are prepared by hydrolysis and reduction, respectively, of the two nitrile groups. Polycondensation of the resulting products leads to Nylon 66 (Scheme 5.27). 

About one third of all adiponitrile is made from acrylonitrile. In the electrodimerization of acrylonitrile a two-phase system is used containing a phase transfer catalyst tetrabutylammonium tosylate [(n-Bu)4bTOTs ]. The head-to-head dimerization may be visualized to occur in the following manner. 

Another derivative of butadiene, hexamethylenediamine (HMDA), is used in the synthesis of nylon. We have already met this compound earlier in this chapter since it is made from acrylonitrile through adiponitrile. 

In basic chemicals, nitrile hydratase and nitrilases have been most successful. Acrylamide from acrylonitrile is now a 30 000 tpy process. In a product tree starting from the addition of HCN to butadiene, nicotinamide (from 3-cyanopyridine, for animal feed), 5-cyanovaleramide (from adiponitrile, for herbicide precursor), and 4-cyanopentanoic acid (from 2-methylglutaronitrile, for l,5-dimethyl-2-piperidone solvent) have been developed. Both the enantioselective addition of HCN to aldehydes with oxynitrilase and the dihydroxylation of substituted benzenes with toluene (or naphthalene) dioxygenase, which are far superior to chemical routes, open up pathways to amino and hydroxy acids, amino alcohols, and diamines in the first case and alkaloids, prostaglandins, and carbohydrate derivatives in the second case. 

Nitrile Hydratase Acrylamide from Acrylonitrile, Nicotinamide from 3-Cyanopyridine, and 5-Cyanovaleramide from Adiponitrile... 

The application of electrochemistry in organic synthesis had already served to bring on stream in the United States in 1965 Monsanto s first industrial adiponitrile process from acrylonitrile. This was followed in 1977 by a similar installation in Seal Sands, England, which was later bought up by BASF. 

Electrochemical processes are often touted as being green chemistry because electricity is considered inexpensive, and toxic metal reagents are usually avoided. Electrochemical processes have produced tons of bulk chemicals [37], the best-known of which may be adiponitrile from reductive dimerization of acrylonitrile (Figure 13.17) [38]. An electrochemical synthesis to manufacture fenoprofen is shown in Figure 13.18, with the magnesium provided as a sacrificial electrode [39], Flow cell technology has been used for these operations on a commercial basis. 

The reported demand for hydrogen cyanide in the U.S. A. is now over 550 kt per annum. Possibly one quarter is by-product from acrylonitrile manufacture the remainder is produced by the oxidation of methane/ ammonia mixtures over platinum at about 1100°C. The major use (40-45%) is in DuPont s adiponitrile production, with some 30-35% used for methyl methacrylate (MMA) (methyl 2-methylpropenoate) manufacture and 10% for sodium cyanide. 

H2N (CH2)a NH2- Colourless solid when pure m.p. 4LC, b.p. 204 C. Manufactured by the electrochemical combination of two molecules of acrylonitrile to adiponitrile followed by catalytic reduction, or by a series of steps from cyclohexanone via adipic acid. Used in the production of Nylon [6, 6]. 

Small amounts of propionitrile and bis(cyanoethyl) ether are formed as by-products. The hydrogen ions are formed from water at the anode and pass to the cathode through a membrane. The catholyte that is continuously recirculated in the cell consists of a mixture of acrylonitrile, water, and a tetraalkylammonium salt the anolyte is recirculated aqueous sulfuric acid. A quantity of catholyte is continuously removed for recovery of adiponitrile and unreacted acrylonitrile the latter is fed back to the catholyte with fresh acrylonitrile. Oxygen that is produced at the anodes is vented and water is added to the circulating anolyte to replace the water that is lost through electrolysis. The operating temperature of the cell is ca 50—60°C. Current densities are 0.25-1.5 A/cm (see Electrochemical processing). 

A typical composition of the catholyte is adiponitrile, 15 wt % acrylonitrile, 15 wt % quaternary ammonium salt, 39 wt % water, 29 wt % and by-products, 2 wt %. Such a solution is extracted with acrylonitrile and water, which separates the organics from the salt that can be returned to the cell. 

The acrylonitrile is distilled from the extract and the resultant residue consists of ca 91 wt % adiponitrile, which is purified further by distillation. The overall yield of acrylonitrile to adiponitrile is 92—95%. 

Hydrogen cyanide is a reactant in the production of acrylonitrile, methyl methacrylates (from acetone), adiponitrile, and sodium cyanide. It is also used to make oxamide, a long-lived fertilizer that releases nitrogen steadily over the vegetation period. Oxamide is produced by the reaction of hydrogen cyanide with water and oxygen using a copper nitrate catalyst at about 70°C and atmospheric pressure ... 

Hexamethylenediamine (HMDA), a monomer for the synthesis of polyamide-6,6, is produced by catalytic hydrogenation of adiponitrile. Three processes, each based on a different reactant, produce the latter coimnercially. The original Du Pont process, still used in a few plants, starts with adipic acid made from cyclohexane adipic acid then reacts with ammonia to yield the dinitrile. This process has been replaced in many plants by the catalytic hydrocyanation of butadiene. A third route to adiponitrile is the electrolytic dimerization of acrylonitrile, the latter produced by the ammoxidation of propene. 

CANDID A process for making adiponitrile by reductive dimerization of acrylonitrile. Invented by ICI in 1976 and piloted in the United Kingdom from 1986, but not commercialized. 

UCB-MCI [Union Chimique—Chemische Bedrijven and Ministry of Chemical Industry for the USSR] An EHD process for making adiponitrile, differing from the Monsanto process in using an emulsion of acrylonitrile and in not using a membrane. 

Scheme 4. Possible reaction pathways for the hydrodimerization of acrylonitrile to adiponitrile. The asterisk indicates that electron transfer can be from the cathode or from [CH2CHCN] in homogeneous solution...

The industrial use of 1,3-dienes and of their electrophilic reactions has strongly stimulated the field in recent years. Because of the low cost of butadiene, abundantly available from the naphtha cracking process, very large scale applications in the synthesis of polymers, solvents and fine chemicals have been developed, leading to many basic raw materials of the modem chemical industry. For example, the primary steps in the syntheses of acrylonitrile and adiponitrile have been the electrophilic addition of hydrocyanic acid to butadiene24. Chlorination of butadiene was the basis of chloroprene synthesis25. 

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