Chemical naphthalene

Figure 89. Flow diagram of old process of chemical naphthalene refining by treatment with sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide soiu-tion... 

Many valuable chemicals can be recovered from the volatile fractions produced in coke ovens. Eor many years coal tar was the primary source for chemicals such as naphthalene [91-20-3] anthracene [120-12-7] and other aromatic and heterocycHc hydrocarbons. The routes to production of important coal-tar derivatives are shown in Eigure 1. Much of the production of these chemicals, especially tar bases such as the pyridines and picolines, is based on synthesis from petroleum feedstocks. Nevertheless, a number of important materials continue to be derived from coal tar. 

Naphthalene, anthracene, carbazole [86-74-8] phenol [108-95-2] and cresyUc acids are found in the tar. Phenol and cresyUc acids are useful as chemical and resin intermediates. The aromatic chemicals are useful in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, dyes, fragrances, and pesticides. Various grades of pitch are made from residues of tar refining. Coal-tar pitch is used for roofing and road tar, and as a binder mixed with petroleum coke to produce anodes for the aluminum industry. 

Approximately 50—55% of the product from a coal-tar refinery is pitch and another 30% is creosote. The remaining 15—20% is the chemical oil, about half of which is naphthalene. Creosote is used as a feedstock for production of carbon black and as a wood preservative. Because of modifications to modem coking processes, tar acids such as phenol and cresyUc acids are contained in coal tar in lower quantity than in the past. To achieve economies of scale, these tar acids are removed from cmde coal tar with a caustic wash and sent to a central processing plant where materials from a number of refiners are combined for recovery. 

Bis (trimethyl silyl) peroxide (CH2)3SiOOSi(CH2)3 can be used with triflic acid (CF SO H) and acts as an effective hydroxylating agent of aromatics such as toluene, mesitylene and naphthalene (165). Sodium perborate (a safe and inexpensive commercial chemical) can be used in conjunction with the triflic acid to hydroxylate aromatics (166). 

In chemical reactions, naphthalene usually acts as though the bonds were fixed in the positions as shown in the first stmcture above at the left. For most purposes, the conventional formula (1) is adequate the numbers represent the carbon atoms with attached hydrogen atoms. 

Some selected chemical and physical properties of naphthalene are given in Table 1. Selected values from the vapor pressure—temperature relationship for naphthalene are Hsted in Table 2, as are selected viscosity—temperature relationships for Hquid naphthalene. Naphthalene forms a2eotropes with several compounds some of these mixtures are Hsted in Table 3. 

Isopropylnaphthalenes produced by alkylation of naphthalene with propjdene have gained commercial importance as chemical intermediates, eg, 2-isopropylnaphthalene [2027-17-OJ, and as multipurpose solvents, eg, mixed isopropylnaphthalenes. Alkylation of naphthalene with alkyl haUdes (except methyl hahdes), acid chlorides, and acid anhydrides proceeds in the presence of anhydrous aluminum chloride by Friedel-Crafts reactions (qv). The products are alkylnaphthalenes or alkyl naphthyl ketones, respectively (see Alkylation). 

The coal tar first is processed through a tar-distillation step where ca the first 20 wt % of distillate, ie, chemical oil, is removed. The chemical oil, which contains practically all the naphthalene present in the tar, is reserved for further processing, and the remainder of the tar is distilled further to remove additional creosote oil fractions until a coal-tar pitch of desirable consistency and properties is obtained. 

The chemical oil contains ca 50 wt % naphthalene, 6 wt % tar acids, 3 wt % tar bases, and numerous other aromatic compounds. The chemical oil is processed to remove the tar acids by contacting with dilute sodium hydroxide and, in a few cases, is next treated to remove tar bases by washing with sulfuric acid. 

Fig. 1. Typical coal-tar naphthalene distillation, starting with naphthalene-rich chemical oil.

However, since the naphthalene produced from petroleum is of high purity and quaUty, the production of refined naphthalene by such chemical treatments essentially has ceased in the United States. Not only are such treatments expensive, but they also generate a significant amount of waste sludge, which creates additional costs for appropriate waste-disposal faciUties. 

The octanol—water partition coefficient, which is used as an iadicator of the tendency of an organic chemical to accumulate ia living tissue, was low. This iadicates that naphthalene is unlikely to accumulate ia the body. 

In additional EPA studies, subchronic inhalation was evaluated ia the rat for 4 and 13 weeks, respectively, and no adverse effects other than nasal irritation were noted. In the above-mentioned NTP chronic toxicity study ia mice, no chronic toxic effects other than those resulting from bronchial irritation were noted. There was no treatment-related increase ia tumors ia male mice, but female mice had a slight increase in bronchial tumors. Neither species had an increase in cancer. Naphthalene showed no biological activity in other chemical carcinogen tests, indicating Htde cancer risk (44). No incidents of chronic effects have been reported as a result of industrial exposure to naphthalene (28,41). 

Naphthalene derivatives are of diverse importance as intermediates for agricultural, constmction, pharmaceutical, photographic, mbber, tanning, and textile chemicals. In this article production figures, economics, and processes are discussed for most commercially important compounds. Sources for a more comprehensive study of naphthalene derivatives are available (1 8). 

Naphthalenesulfonic acids are important chemical precursors for dye intermediates, wetting agents and dispersants, naphthols, and air-entrainment agents for concrete. The production of many intermediates used for making a2o, a2oic, and triphenylmethane dyes (qv) involves naphthalene sulfonation and one or more unit operations, eg, caustic fusion, nitration, reduction, or amination. 

Naphthalenesulfonic Acid—Formaldehyde Condensates. The sodium salts of the condensation products of naphthalenesulfonic acid with formaldehyde constitute an important class of compounds which are mainly used in the area of concrete additives (32,33), agricultural formulations, mbber formulations, and synthetic tanning agents. They are also used in photographic materials (34). Hampshire Chemical Co. and Henkel of America, Inc., are the largest suppHers of naphthalene sulfonate in concrete additives (superplasticizer) and reportedly hold 75—80% of this market. It was estimated that naphthalene sulfonate demand from U.S. producers would reach approximately... 

Petrochemicals are those chemicals produced from petroleum or natural gas and can be generally divided into three groups (/) aliphatics, such as butane and butene (2) cycloaliphatics, such as cyclohexane, cyclohexane derivatives, and aromatics (eg, ben2ene, toluene, xylene, and naphthalene) and (J) inorganics, such as sulfur, ammonia, ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, and nitric acid. 

Dispersants (qv) have been added to the pulper to maintain stickies in a colloidal state. The small particle size reduces the problems stickies cause on the paper machine and in paper products. Among the chemicals that have been used are fatty alcohol ethoxylates, alkylphenol ethoxylates, lignosulfonates, and naphthalene sulfonates (18). 

Creosote. In coal-tar refining, the recovery of tar chemicals leaves residual oils, including heavy naphtha, dephenolated carboHc oil, naphthalene drained oil, wash oil, strained anthracene oil, and heavy oil. These are blended to give creosotes conforming to particular specifications. 

In earlier editions of the Eniyclopedia there have been articles covering the properties, manufacture, capacities, etc, of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), chlorinated naphthalenes, benzene hexachloride, and chlorinated derivatives of cyclopentadiene. These materials are no longer in commercial use because of their toxicity. However, they stiU impact on the chemical industry because of residual environmental problems. Their toxicity and environmental impact are discussed (see Cm.OROCARBONSANDCm.OROHYDROCARBONS, TOXIC aromatics). 

Most coal chemicals are obtained from high temperature tar with an average yield over 5% of the coal which is carbonized. The yields in coking are about 70% of the weight of feed coal. Tars obtained from vertical gas retorts have a much more uniform chemical composition than those from coke ovens. Two or more coals are usually blended. The conditions of carbonization vary depending on the coals used and affect the tar composition. Coal-tar chemicals include phenols, cresols, xylenols, benzene, toluene, naphthalene, and anthracene. 

The carbonization by-products are usually refined, within the coke plant, into commodity chemicals such as elemental sulfur (qv), ammonium sulfate, benzene, toluene, xylene, and naphthalene (qv) (see also Ammonium compounds BTX processing). Subsequent processing of these chemicals produces a host of other chemicals and materials. The COG is a valuable heating fuel used mainly within steel (qv) plants for such purposes as firing blast furnace stoves, soaking furnaces for semifinished steel, annealing furnaces, and lime kilns as well as heating the coke ovens themselves. 

The precursors of dyes are called dye intermediates. They are obtained from simple raw materials, such as ben2ene and naphthalene, by a variety of chemical reactions. Usually, the raw materials are cycHc aromatic compounds, but acycHc precursors are used to synthesi2e heterocycHc intermediates. The intermediates are derived from two principal sources, coal tar and petroleum (qv). 

The petroleum industry is now the principal suppHer of ben2ene, toluene, the xylenes, and naphthalene (see BTX processing Feedstocks). Petroleum displaced coal tar as the primary source for these aromatic compounds after World War II because it was relatively cheap and abundantly available. However, the re-emergence of king coal is predicted for the twenty-first century, when oil suppHes are expected to dwindle and the cost of producing chemicals from coal (including new processes based on synthesis gas) will gradually become more competitive (3). 

Both Watts and sulfamate baths are used for engineering appHcation. The principal difference in the deposits is in the much lower internal stress obtained, without additives, from the sulfamate solution. Tensile stress can be reduced through zero to a high compressive stress with the addition of proprietary sulfur-bearing organic chemicals which may also contain saccharin or the sodium salt of naphthalene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid. These materials can be very effective in small amounts, and difficult to remove if overadded, eg, about 100 mg/L of saccharin reduced stress of a Watts bath from 240 MPa (34,800 psi) tensile to about 10 MPa (1450 psi) compressive. Internal stress value vary with many factors (22,71) and numbers should only be compared when derived under the same conditions. 

Table 2 H Chemical Shifts of Protons on the Heterocyclic Rings of Simple Benzazines cf. naphthalene, column 1)...

Until the mid-1950s the main raw material source for the European plastics industry was coal. On destructive distillation coal yields four products coal tar, coke, coal gas and ammonia. Coal tar was an important source of aromatic chemicals such as benzene, toluene, phenol, naphthalene and related products. From these materials other chemicals such as adipic acid, hexamethylenedia-mine, caprolactam and phthalic anhydride could be produced, leading to such important plastics as the phenolic resins, polystyrene and the nylons. 

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