Applications propylene oxide

For food and pharmaceutical applications, the microbial count must be reduced to less than 10,000 viable cells per g exopolysaccharide. Treatment with propylene oxide gas has been used for reducing the number of viable cells in xanthan powders. The patented process involves propylene oxide treatment for 3 h in a tumbling reactor. There is an initial evacuation step before propylene oxide exposure. After treatment, evacuation and tumbling are alternated and if necessary the reactor is flushed with sterile nitrogen gas to reduce the residual propylene oxide level below the Food and Drug Administration permitted maximum (300 mg kg 1). The treated polysaccharide is then packaged aseptically. 

The alkyl iodides formed in the reaction are used to characterize the alkyl chain by GC. An alternative method is the cleavage with hydrogen bromide and GC of the alkyl bromides. A detailed discussion of the analytical techniques applicable to the analysis of the ethylene and propylene oxide content as well as the alkyl chain distribution has been made by Cross [311]. 

Polypropylene ether) polyol is the single most important product from propylene oxide and enjoys a predominant position in polyurethane applications. The ether linkages are very abundant in these polyols and they contribute to the physical and chemical properties in many applications such as surfactant action and hydrogen-bond formation. 

The only large-scale application of sucrose ethers appears to be to use poly-(9-(hydroxylpropyl) ethers, generated by alkoxylation with propylene oxide, as the polyol component for rigid polyurethanes —sucrose itself gives only brittle ones—which are used primarily in cushioning applications. The structures of these products, that is, the positions at which sucrose is alkoxylated and then carbamoylated with diisocyanates, and the type(s) of cross-linking involved, are not well defined though. 

The propylene equivalent of polyethylene is polypropylene. About 50% of the chemical use of propylene is directed to that use. Other major applications are the manufacture of propylene oxide, isopropyl alcohol, cumene, 0X0 alcohols, acrylic acids, and acrylonitrile. The consumer products you are familiar with show up everywhere carpets, rope, clothing, plastics in automobiles, appliances, toys, rubbing alcohol, paints, and epoxy glue. 

Although propylene oxide is structurally similar to ethylene oxide, its applications are very different. For example, propylene glycol accounts for... 

The most recent entrant-to the. club of commodity chemicals is 1,4-butanediol (BDO), a petrochemical used in some of the more specialized applications such as chemical intermediates for the production of tetrahydro-furane and gama-butyrolactone, polybutylene terephthalate, and the more familiar polyurethanes. Traditionally, the Reppe process was the primary route to BDO, based bn acetylene and formaldehyde feeds. More recently, the share of BDO from butane and propylene oxide based production has grown rapidly. 

Polavatapu, et al. (128) have identified a VCD band near 12(X) cm in phenylcaibinols that correlates with configuration. Wieser and co-workers (129, 130) have recently reported FTIR-VCD spectra of chiral methyloxetan molecules. In the area of theoretical calculations, Lx>we, Stephens, and Segal (131, 132) have implemented the theory of Stephens (118) in calculations on trans-1,2,-dideuteriocyclopropane, tron5-l,2-dideuteriocyclobutane, and propylene oxide. For the latter two molecules, favorable agreement with experiment was found. The first application of VCD to kinetic analysis has also been reported for (1/ , 2R)-dideuteriocyclobutane thermolysis (133). 

Table 6.2 shows the important applications of sodium hydroxide. Direct applications can be further broken down into pulp and paper (24%), soaps and detergents (10%), alumina (6%), petroleum (7%), textiles (5%), water treatment (5%), and miscellaneous (43%). Organic chemicals manufactured with sodium hydroxide are propylene oxide (23%), polycarbonate (5%), ethyleneamines (3%), epoxy resins (3%), and miscellaneous (66%). Inorganic chemicals manufactured are sodium and calcium hypochlorite (24%), sodium cyanide (10%), sulfur compounds (14%), and miscellaneous (52%). As you can see from the number of applications listed, and still the high percentages of miscellaneous uses, sodium hydroxide has a very diverse use profile. It is the chief industrial alkali. 

Chlorine (from the Greek chloros for yellow-green ) is the most abundant halogen (0.19 w% of the earth s crust) and plays a key role in chemical processes. The chlor-alkali industry has been in operation since the 1890s and improvements in the technology are still important and noticeable, for example, the transition from the mercury-based technology to membrane cells [60]. Most chlorine produced today is used for the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride, chloroprene, chlorinated hydrocarbons, propylene oxide, in the pulp and paper industry, in water treatment, and in disinfection processes [61]. A summary of typical redox states of chlorine, standard potentials for acidic aqueous media, and applications is given in Scheme 2. 

Building on earlier work in these laboratories (8) we have overcome the typical mass transfer limitations of phase transfer catalysis for propylene oxidation by the use of 3-component liquid phases based on CO2 expanded liquids (CXLs). For the application to oxidations by aqueous H2O2, the organic component of the CXL is chosen because it is miscible with both dense CO2 and water. In this way, homogeneous systems are produced which decrease mass-transfer limitations and intensify chemical reactions. Previous reports using CXL systems have shown that they enhance the oxidation of the substrate and improve the selectivity at moderate reaction temperatures and pressures (3, 8, 9). 

The attack of OH obeys the Markovnikov rule. Higher alkenes are oxidized to ketones and this unique oxidation of alkenes has extensive synthetic applications ]. The oxidation of propylene affords acetone. Propionaldehyde is... 

Added in proof. Recently the analysis of 13C-nmr spectra of polypropylene oxide provided a new information about the triad of methine carbon atom and dyad of methylene carbon in the main chain (9/). Applications of this analysis should give a valuable contribution to the more detailed understanding of the polymerization reaction of propylene oxide by organometallic catalysts. 

The strategy we adopted for attacking our problem, i.e., the complete understanding of the stereoregulation mechanism in the stereospecific polymerization reaction, has been successfully applied to the stereospecific polymerization of acetaldehyde and propylene oxide. The same strategy should be applicable also to other types of catalysts and monomers, even if the difficulty encountered in the experimental performance is greater. The fruitful harvest must await future investigation. 

Fig. 45. Temperature dependence of 13C T, for the propylene oxide CHCH2 resonance in the linear (O, ) and crosslinked polyurethanes (A, 4k). The values are determined from the pulse sequences with cross-polarization ( , A) and the direct application of a carbon 90° degree pulse (O, A) (adapted from Ref.301 )...

Styrene, one of the world s major organic chemicals, is derived from ethylene via ethylbenzene. Several recent developments have occurred with respect to this use for ethylene. One is the production of styrene as a co-product of the propylene oxide process developed by Halcon International (12). In this process, benzene is alkylated with ethylene to ethylbenzene, and the latter is oxidized to ethylbenzene hydroperoxide. This hydroperoxide, in the presence of suitable catalysts, can convert a broad range of olefins to their corresponding oxirane compounds, of which propylene oxide presently has the greatest industrial importance. The ethylbenzene hydroperoxide is converted simultaneously to methylphenyl-carbinol which, upon dehydration, yields styrene. Commercial application of this new development in the use of ethylene will be demonstrated in a plant in Spain in the near future. 

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