By dehydrogenation

A number of alkoxypyrazines have been prepared from hydropyrazines. 5-(4 -Amino-3, 5 -dibromobenzenesulfonylimino)-6-hydroxy-2,3-dimethoxy-2,3,4,5-tetra-hydropyrazine (32) refluxed with 2N sodium hydroxide gave 2-(4 -amino-3, 5-dibromobenzenesulfonamido)-3-hydroxy-6-methoxypyrazine (881). Rperazine-2,5-dione (33) with an excess of triethyloxonium fluoroborate in dichloromethane gave 

5- diethoxy-3,6-dihydropyrazine which was oxidized with dichlorodicyanobenzo-quinone (DDQ) to 2,5-diethoxypyrazine 2,5-diethoxy-3,6-dimethylpyrazine was prepared in a similar manner (314). Pyrolysis of tra s-2,5-dibenzyl-3,6-diethoxy- 

5- dihydropyrazine at 250-270° gave 3-benzyl-2,5-diethoxypyrazine (90%) together with traces of 2,5-dibenzyl-3,6-diethoxypyrazine pyrolysis of racemic 

6- diethoxy-2,5-dimethyl-2,5-dihydropyrazine gave a low yield of 2,5-diethoxy-3-methylpyrazine (314). 

13 Diniethylpiperazine-2,5-dione (34) on treatment with triethyloxonium fluoroborate in dichloromethane gave 5-ethoxy-l,3-dimethyl-2-oxo-l, 2,3.6-tetrahydropyrazine which was oxidized by DDQ in dry benzene to 5-ethoxy-l 3 dimethyl-2-oxo-l,2-dihydropyrazine (35) (1067). l,3,6-Trimethylpiperazine-2,5-dione similarly treated gave three products, one of which was assigned the structure 5-methoxy-l 3,6-trimethyl-2-oxo-l, 2-dihydropyrazine 3-benzyl-5-methoxy-l, 6-dimethyl-2-0X0-1,2-dihydropyrazine was also prepared similarly (1078). When 3,6-diethoxy-2,5 dimethyl-2,5-dihydropyrazine was refluxed with lead tetraacetate in dry benzene it gave a mixture of 2,5-diacetoxy-3,6-diethoxy-2,5-dimethyl-2,5-dihydropyrazine (36) (4 parts) and 2,5-diethoxy-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (1 part) (1068). 

Sammes has dehydrogenated the iminoethers of piperazine-diones with 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyanobenzoquinone 243). Cyclo-L-Pro-L-Pro can be oxidized with this reagent directly to pyrocoll 243). The use of sulfur as oxidizing agent has been successful only with N-acetylated piperazinediones 242). 

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The generic term azulene was first applied to the blue oils obtained by distillation, oxidation, or acid-treatment of many essential oils. These blue colours are usually due to the presence of either guaiazulene or velivazulene. The parent hydrocarbon is synthesized by dehydrogenation of a cyclopentanocycloheptanol or the condensation of cyclopentadiene with glutacondialdehyde anil. 

Benzene was first isolated by Faraday in 1825 from the liquid condensed by compressing oil gas. It is the lightest fraction obtained from the distillation of the coal-tar hydrocarbons, but most benzene is now manufactured from suitable petroleum fractions by dehydrogenation (54%) and dealkylation processes. Its principal industrial use is as a starting point for other chemicals, particularly ethylbenzene, cumene, cyclohexane, styrene (45%), phenol (20%), and Nylon (17%) precursors. U.S. production 1979 2-6 B gals. 

C2HsCO(CH2)3CH3. Made by dehydrogenation of 3-heptanol b.p. Used as a... 

Styrene is manufactured by alkylating benzene with ethene followed by dehydrogenation, or from petroleum reformate coproduction with propylene oxide. Styrene is used almost exclusively for the manufacture of polymers, of which the most important are polystyrene, ABS plastics and styrene-butadiene rubber. U.S. production 1980 3 megatonnes. 

J Olefin Syntheses by Dehydrogenation and Other Elimination Reactions 137... 

The stronger directing effects present in the indoline ring can sometimes be used to advantage to prepare C-substituted indoles. The aniline type of nitrogen present in indoline favours 5,7-substitution. After the substituent is introduced the indoline ring can be aromatized by dehydrogenation (see Section 15.2 for further discussion). A procedure for 7-acylation of indoline... 

In a widely used industnal process the mixture of ethylene and propene that is obtained by dehydrogenation of natural gas is passed into concentrated sulfunc acid Water is added and the solution IS heated to hydrolyze the alkyl hydrogen sulfate The product is almost exclusively a sin gle alcohol Is this alcohol ethanol 1 propanol or 2 propanoH Why is this particular one formed almost exclusively" ... 

A method for making ben2onitri1e by dehydrogenation of the Diels-Alder adduct of butadiene and acrylonitrile also has been described (79). Ben2onitri1e also can be made on a small scale by the dehydration of ben2amide ia an iaert solvent with phosphoms oxychloride or ben2enesulfonyl chloride and an organic amine (80,81). 

Production of acetone by dehydrogenation of isopropyl alcohol began in the early 1920s and remained the dominant production method through the 1960s. In the mid-1960s virtually all United States acetone was produced from propylene. A process for direct oxidation of propylene to acetone was developed by Wacker Chemie (12), but is not beheved to have been used in the United States. However, by the mid-1970s 60% of United States acetone capacity was based on cumene hydroperoxide [80-15-9], which accounted for about 65% of the acetone produced. 

Ma.nufa.cture. Butyrolactone is manufactured by dehydrogenation of butanediol. The butyrolactone plant and process in Germany, as described after World War II (179), approximates the processes presendy used. The dehydrogenation was carried out with preheated butanediol vapor in a hydrogen carrier over a supported copper catalyst at 230—250°C. The yield of butyrolactone after purification by distillation was about 90%. 

Formic acid can decompose either by dehydration, HCOOH — H2O + CO (AG° = —30.1 kJ/mol AH° = 10.5 kJ/mol) or by dehydrogenation, HCOOH H2 + CO2 (AG° = —58.6 kJ/mol AH° = —31.0 kJ/mol). The kinetics of these reactions have been extensively studied (19). In the gas phase metallic catalysts favor dehydrogenation, whereas oxide catalysts favor dehydration. Dehydration is the predominant mode of decomposition ia the Hquid phase, and is cataly2ed by strong acids. The mechanism is beheved to be as follows (19) ... 

Methyl /-Butyl Ether. MTBE is produced by reaction of isobutene and methanol on acid ion-exchange resins. The supply of isobutene, obtained from hydrocarbon cracking units or by dehydration of tert-huty alcohol, is limited relative to that of methanol. The cost to produce MTBE from by-product isobutene has been estimated to be between 0.13 to 0.16/L ( 0.50—0.60/gal) (90). Direct production of isobutene by dehydrogenation of isobutane or isomerization of mixed butenes are expensive processes that have seen less commercial use in the United States. 

Production of maleic anhydride by oxidation of / -butane represents one of butane s largest markets. Butane and LPG are also used as feedstocks for ethylene production by thermal cracking. A relatively new use for butane of growing importance is isomerization to isobutane, followed by dehydrogenation to isobutylene for use in MTBE synthesis. Smaller chemical uses include production of acetic acid and by-products. Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) is the principal by-product, though small amounts of formic, propionic, and butyric acid are also produced. / -Butane is also used as a solvent in Hquid—Hquid extraction of heavy oils in a deasphalting process. 

Quantitative estimation of cyclohexane in the presence of benzene and aUphatic hydrocarbons may be accompHshed by a nitration-dehydrogenation method described in Reference 61. The mixture is nitrated with mixed acid and under conditions that induce formation of the soluble mononitroaromatic derivative. The original mixture of hydrocarbons then is dehydrogenated over a platinum catalyst and is nitrated again. The mononitro compounds of the original benzene and the benzene formed by dehydrogenation of the cyclohexane dissolve in the mixed acid. The aUphatic compound remains unattacked and undissolved. This reaction may be carried out on a micro scale. 

When additional substituents ate bonded to other ahcycHc carbons, geometric isomers result. Table 2 fists primary (1°), secondary (2°), and tertiary (3°) amine derivatives of cyclohexane and includes CAS Registry Numbers for cis and trans isomers of the 2-, 3-, and 4-methylcyclohexylamines in addition to identification of the isomer mixtures usually sold commercially. For the 1,2- and 1,3-isomers, the racemic mixture of optical isomers is specified ultimate identification by CAS Registry Number is fisted for the (+) and (—) enantiomers of /n t-2-methylcyclohexylamine. The 1,4-isomer has a plane of symmetry and hence no chiral centers and no stereoisomers. The methylcyclohexylamine geometric isomers have different physical properties and are interconvertible by dehydrogenation—hydrogenation through the imine. 

Styrene manufacture by dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene is simple ia concept and has the virtue of beiag a siagle-product technology, an important consideration for a product of such enormous volume. This route is used for nearly 90% of the worldwide styrene production. The rest is obtained from the coproduction of propylene oxide (PO) and styrene (SM). The PO—SM route is complex and capital-iatensive ia comparison to dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene, but it stiU can be very attractive. However, its use is limited by the mismatch between the demands for styrene and propylene oxides (qv). 

Production of a-methylstyrene (AMS) from cumene by dehydrogenation was practiced commercially by Dow until 1977. It is now produced as a by-product in the production of phenol and acetone from cumene. Cumene is manufactured by alkylation of benzene with propylene. In the phenol—acetone process, cumene is oxidized in the Hquid phase thermally to cumene hydroperoxide. The hydroperoxide is spHt into phenol and acetone by a cleavage reaction catalyzed by sulfur dioxide. Up to 2% of the cumene is converted to a-methylstyrene. Phenol and acetone are large-volume chemicals and the supply of the by-product a-methylstyrene is weU in excess of its demand. Producers are forced to hydrogenate it back to cumene for recycle to the phenol—acetone plant. Estimated plant capacities of the U.S. producers of a-methylstyrene are Hsted in Table 13 (80). 

Squalane [111-01-3] (fully saturated squalene) is produced synthetically by the coupling of two molecules of geranyl acetone with diacetylene, followed by dehydration and complete hydrogenation (205). Squalane can also be made by dimerization of dehydroneroHdol, followed by dehydrogenation and hydrogenation (206). 

Because much toluene is demethylated for use as benzene, considerable effort has been expended on developing processes in which toluene can be used in place of benzene to make directiy from toluene the same products that are derived from benzene. Such processes both save the cost of demethylation and utilize the methyl group already on toluene. Most of this effort has been directed toward manufacture of styrene. An alternative approach is the manufacture of i ra-methylstyrene by selective ethylation of toluene, followed by dehydrogenation. Resins from this monomer are expected to displace... 

Primary Amyl Alcohols. Primary amyl alcohols (qv) are manufactured by hydroformylation of mixed butenes, followed by dehydrogenation (114). Both 1-butene and 2-butene yield the same product though in slightly different ratios depending on the catalyst and conditions. Some catalyst and conditions produce the alcohols in a single step. By modifying the catalyst, typically a cobalt carbonyl, with phosphoms derivatives, such as tri( -butyl)phosphine, the linear alcohol can be the principal product from 1-butene. 

Dutch State Mines (Stamicarbon). Vapor-phase, catalytic hydrogenation of phenol to cyclohexanone over palladium on alumina, Hcensed by Stamicarbon, the engineering subsidiary of DSM, gives a 95% yield at high conversion plus an additional 3% by dehydrogenation of coproduct cyclohexanol over a copper catalyst. Cyclohexane oxidation, an alternative route to cyclohexanone, is used in the United States and in Asia by DSM. A cyclohexane vapor-cloud explosion occurred in 1975 at a co-owned DSM plant in Flixborough, UK (12) the plant was rebuilt but later closed. In addition to the conventional Raschig process for hydroxylamine, DSM has developed a hydroxylamine phosphate—oxime (HPO) process for cyclohexanone oxime no by-product ammonium sulfate is produced. Catalytic ammonia oxidation is followed by absorption of NO in a buffered aqueous phosphoric acid... 

Another appHcation for this type catalyst is ia the purification of styrene. Trace amounts (200—300 ppmw) of phenylacetylene can inhibit styrene polymerization and caimot easily be removed from styrene produced by dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene using the high activity catalysts introduced in the 1980s. Treatment of styrene with hydrogen over an inhibited supported palladium catalyst in a small post reactor lowers phenylacetylene concentrations to a tolerable level of <50 ppmw without significant loss of styrene. 

Alcohols. The direct synthesis of esters by dehydrogenation or oxidative hydrogenation of alcohols offers a simple method for the preparation of certain types of esters, such as ethyl acetate (96—98) ... 

Alkylation. Ethylbenzene [100-41 -4] the precursor of styrene, is produced from benzene and ethylene. The ethylation of benzene is conducted either ia the Hquid phase ia the preseace of a Eriedel-Crafts catalyst (AlCl, BE, EeCl ) or ia the vapor phase with a suitable catalyst. The Moasanto/Lummus process uses an aluminum chloride catalyst that yields more than 99% ethylbenzene (13). More recently, Lummus and Union Oil commercialized a zeoHte catalyst process for Hquid-phase alkylation (14). Badger and Mobil also have a vapor-phase alkylation process usiag zeoHte catalysts (15). Almost all ethylbenzene produced is used for the manufacture of styrene [100-42-5] which is obtained by dehydrogenation ia the preseace of a suitable catalyst at 550—640°C and relatively low pressure, <0.1 MPa (<1 atm). 

The employment of non-protic electrophiles for the foregoing type of cyclizations as illustrated in Scheme 8 has the particular merit of leaving a useful point of departure for further transformations. Comparable cyclizations of 2-allyl-3-aminocyclohexenones with mercury(II) acetate are preceded by dehydrogenation to the corresponding 2-allyl-3-aminophenol as shown in Scheme 9 82TL3591). The preferred direction of cyclization depends upon the nucleophilicity of the amino group. 

Most diazirines are easily obtained from diaziridines. Dialkyldiazirines are simply formed by dehydrogenation of 3,3-dialkyldiaziridines (60AG781). For example, the spirodiazirine (187) can be prepared in 65-75% yield from the diaziridine with silver oxide (6508(45)83). 

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