Chlorobenzene hydrolysis

Although Dow s phenol process utilized hydrolysis of the chlorobenzene, a reaction studied extensively (9,10), phenol production from cumene (qv) became the dominant process, and the chlorobenzene hydrolysis processes were discontinued. 

Before 1970, there were five different processes used to make phenol in the United States the sulfonation route, chlorobenzene hydrolysis, the Raschig process, cumene oxidation, and the benzoic acid route. By 1978, the first three processes had essentially disappeared, and 98 percent of the remaining plant capacity was based on cumene oxidation. The oxidation process is shown in Fig. 10.33. 

As examples of this, the early facilities to produce phenol by chlorobenzene hydrolysis and by cumene oxidation were both constructed when the stoichiometry demonstrated acceptable economics. It was long after the product had been on the market before anything was known about the respective mechanisms involved [31]. Secondary aspects of the process, such as capital... 

Phenol production is typically carried out by add induced conversion of cumene hydroperoxide to phenol and acetone (Hock process). Cumene hydroperoxide is obtained by oxidation of cumene. The cumene feedstock for the latter reaction is provided by Friedel-Crafts alkylation of benzene with propene. Alternative routes (chlorobenzene hydrolysis, cydohexanol dehydrogenation, oxidative decarboxylation of benzoic acid) exist but are of much lower industrial relevance. 

Obtained synthetically by one of the following processes fusion of sodium ben-zenesulphonate with NaOH to give sodium phenate hydrolysis of chlorobenzene by dilute NaOH at 400 C and 300atm. to give sodium phenate (Dow process) catalytic vapour-phase reaction of steam and chlorobenzene at 500°C (Raschig process) direct oxidation of cumene (isopropylbenzene) to the hydroperoxide, followed by acid cleavage lo propanone and phenol catalytic liquid-phase oxidation of toluene to benzoic acid and then phenol. Where the phenate is formed, phenol is liberated by acidification. 

Hydrolysis of chlorobenzene Heating chloroben zene with aqueous sodium hydroxide at high pres sure gives phenol after acidification... 

Ortho- and/ i ra-phenylphenols are commercially significant biphenyl derivatives that do not involve biphenyl as a starting material. Both are produced as by-products from the hydrolysis of chlorobenzene [108-90-7] with aqueous sodium hydroxide (68). o-Phenylphenol, ie, l,l-biphenyl-2-ol [90-43-7], particularly as its sodium salt, is widely used as a germicide or fungicide. Pi ra-phenylphenol [92-69-3] with formaldehyde forms a resin used in surface coatings. 

Polyhalogenobenzene Hydrolysis. The chlorobenzenes can be transformed into chlorophenols by hydrolysis in a Hquid-phase basic medium. The two most commonly used techniques are treatment in aqueous alkaU medium at a temperature between 200 and 350°C (48), or a milder hydrolysis (200—250°C) treatment with dilute sodium hydroxide in the presence of copper. The hydrolysis may be carried out in the vapor phase (250—400°C) on soHd catalysts based on rare-earth phosphates (49) or copper-beating siUca. 

Although nucleophilic aromatic substitution by the elimination-addition mechanism is most commonly seen with very strong amide bases, it also occurs with bases such as hydroxide ion at high temperatures. A " C-labeling study revealed that hydrolysis of chlorobenzene proceeds by way of a benzyne intennediate. 

On the other hand, " C-labeling studies have shown that the base-promoted hydrolysis of chlorobenzene (second entry in Table 24.3) proceeds by the elimination-addition mechanism and involves benzyne as an intermediate. 

Write a stepwise mechanism for the hydrolysis of chlorobenzene under the conditions shown in Table 24.3. 

A mixture of 100 g (0.6 mole) of 1-morpholino-l-cyclohexene, 28.8 g (0,4 mole) of /3-propiolactone, and 100 ml of chlorobenzene is placed in a 500-ml round-bottom flask fitted with a condenser (drying tube). The mixture is refluxed for 4 hours. The solvent and excess enamine are removed by distillation at aspirator pressure. (The residue may be distilled to afford the pure morpholide, bp 187-18871 rnm, 1.5090.) Basic hydrolysis may be carried out on the undistilled morpholide. To the crude amide is added 400 ml of 10% sodium hydroxide solution. The mixture is cautiously brought to reflux, and refluxing is continued for 2 hours. The cooled reaction mixture is made acidic (pH 4) and is extracted three times with ether. The combined ether extracts are washed twice with 5 % hydrochloric acid solution and twice with water. The ethereal solution is dried (sodium sulfate), then filtered, and the solvent is removed (rotary evaporator). The residue may be recrystallized from petroleum ether-benzene, mp 64°. 

Mor alpha-) Dinitrophenol- Yel orthorhombic crysts from w, leaflets from ale mp 112—14° bp (decomp) d 1.683g/cc at 24°, 1.4829 at 72.5/4°. Sublimes when carefully heated volatile with steam. Can be prepd by the nitration of phenol, but this method is not considered commercially practicable because of partial decompn of the phenolic ring. A better method is by hydrolysis under pressure of 2,4-dinitrochloro-benzene, which in turn can be obtained by nitrating chlorobenzene. Other methods are given in Ref 1... 

The results for the hydrolysis of chlorobenzene, o-chlorotoluene and p-chloroanisole in presence of cuprous oxide at different temperatures (Fig. 14) show a good selectivity for the reaction of the chlorobenzene. But, the p-chloroanisole is also transformed by a secondary demethylation reaction into the corresponding p-chlorophenolate. 

The influence of the copper catalyst ratio on the hydrolysis of arylhalide has been investigated on the chlorobenzene. The yield of the phenolate formation in these reaction conditions is depending on the initial molar ratio of the cuprous oxide to the starting chlorobenzene (Fig. 15). 

Fig. 15. Influence of the Copper catalyst ratio on the hydrolysis of chlorobenzene...

By comparison of the hydrolysis rate for the chloro- and bromobenzene catalyzed with cuprous oxide (Fig. 16), it is easy to show that the reactivity of bromobenzene as arylating agent is much higher than the reactivity of chlorobenzene the yields in phenolate is higher than 90 % after half an hour at 230 °C for the bromobenzene whereas the chlorobenzene affords only about 65 % after 15 hours, even at higher temperature (250°C). 

Last, it must be pointed out in this investigation a characteristic feature before the reaction starts, the hydrolysis rate needs a short induction period, about 1 hour for the chlorobenzene and 0.5 hour for the bromobenzene. 

Inter- and intramolecular hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition reactions in a series of functionalized 2-(lH)-pyrazinones have been studied in detail by the groups of Van der Eycken and Kappe (Scheme 6.95) [195-197]. In the intramolecular series, cycloaddition of alkenyl-tethered 2-(lH)-pyrazinones required 1-2 days under conventional thermal conditions involving chlorobenzene as solvent under reflux conditions (132 °C). Switching to 1,2-dichloroethane doped with the ionic liquid l-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (bmimPF6) and sealed-vessel microwave technology, the same transformations were completed within 8-18 min at a reaction temperature of 190 °C (Scheme 6.95 a) [195]. Without isolating the primary imidoyl chloride cycloadducts, rapid hydrolysis was achieved by the addition of small amounts of water and subjecting the reaction mixture to further microwave irradia-... 

Because of the fact that the halogen is so very firmly attached to the benzene ring, the hydrolysis of chlorobenzene, a cheap substance, can only be carried out according to the following equation at very high temperatures and then with dilute solutions of alkali hydroxide (K. H. Meyer and F. Bergius). 

Phenol has been obtained by distillation from petroleum and synthesis by oxidation of cumene or toluene, and by vapor-phase hydrolysis of chlorobenzene (USITC 1987). In 1995, 95% of U.S. phenol production was based on oxidation of cumene except at one company that used toluene oxidation and a few companies that distilled phenol from petroleum (CMR 1996). In 1995 the total annual capacity of phenol production approached 4.5 billion pounds (CMR 1996). 

Ammonolysis. Reactions involving ammonia. Ammonolysis of esters, acyl chlorides, and anhydrides give amides aniline is produced by ammonolysis of chlorobenzene. The reaction is analogous to hydrolysis, with ammonia substituted for water. 

Chemical/Physical. Diuron decomposes at 180 to 190 °C releasing dimethylamine and 3,4-dichlorophenyl isocyanate. Dimethylamine and 3,4-dichloroaniline are produced when hydrolyzed or when acids or bases are added at elevated temperatures (Sittig, 1985). The hydrolysis half-life of diuron in a 0.5 N NaOH solution at 20 °C is 150 d (El-Dib and Aly, 1976). When diuron was pyrolyzed in a helium atmosphere between 400 and 1,000 °C, the following products were identified dimethylamine, chlorobenzene, 1,2-dichlorobenzene, benzonitrile, a trichlorobenzene, aniline, 4-chloroaniline, 3,4-dichlorophenyl isocyanate, bis(l,3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)urea), 3,4-dichloroaniline, and monuron [3-(4-chlorophenyl)-l,l-dimethylurea] (Gomez et al., 1982). Products reported from the combustion of diuron at 900 °C include carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, chlorine, nitrogen oxides, and HCl (Kennedy et al., 1972a). 

Another development is due to the interest in polychlorodibenzofurans, spurred by their occurrence as environmental contaminants. Polychloro-phenols are manufactured in large amounts (150,000 tons per annum) and find a wide range of uses. The usual method of manufacture involves the hydrolysis of chlorobenzenes, and side reactions, favored by high temperature, can lead to the production of polychlorodibenzofurans and poly-chlorodibenzo-p-dioxins. The Seveso incident is well known." Polychloro-biphenyls are also widely used industrial chemicals, particularly in heat exchange systems, and their pyrolysis leads to the formation of polychloro-dibenzofurans. Polychlorodibenzofurans have also been detected in the fly ash and flue gases of incinerators and industrial heating plants. The most toxic of the polychlorodibenzofurans are 2,3,7,8-tetra-, 1,2,3,7,8-penta-, and 2,3,4,7,8-pentachlorodibenzofuran, and an extensive literature exists on the environmental pollution and the results of human exposure to these substances. A particularly tragic example of the latter occurred in 1968 in the Fukuoka prefecture of Japan after consumption of rice oil contaminated with a commercial polychlorobiphenyl. 

It is a colorless liquid or a crystalline solid mp 26.8 °C) with an odor reminiscent of geranium leaves. Diphenyl ether is obtained as a byproduct in the production of phenol by high-pressure hydrolysis of chlorobenzene. Because of its stability and low price, diphenyl ether is used in large quantities in soap perfumes. However, its main application is as a heat-transfer medium (eutectic mixture with diphenyl). FCT 1974 (12) p.707. 

Another method developed by Dow chemical used the hydrolysis of chlorobenzene using NaOH ... 

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