Conversion phenol hydrogenation

Since phenols can act as hydrogen donors, the use of polar solvents stabilizing the phenolic hydrogen by hydrogen bonding is beneficial. Other than with phenolates, efficient chain reactions have so far only been observed with reactive phenols such as 1,4-hydroquinone. In all other cases, catalytic amounts of the reductant proved insufficient to achieve clean conversions. As with 4-substituted phenolates, comparably good regioselectivities can be achieved with 4-substituted phenols. 

Figure 5.2 Equilibrium conversion, yield and selectivity for phenol hydrogenation.

In the above equations the symbols A, B, C, D designate phenol, hydrogen, cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol. Table 5.7 presents the model parameters at 423 K and 1 atm. The model takes into account the effect of the products on the reaction rate in the region of higher conversion. This feature is particularly useful for describing the product distribution in consecutive catalytic-type reactions. Note that the adsorption coefficients are different in the two reactions. Following the authors, this assumption, physically unlikely, was considered only to increase the accuracy of modeling. 

In the phenol hydrogenation process phenol is fed in the gas phase with hydrogen at 140-170°C through a catalyst bed at atmospheric pressure. The catalyst generally consists of 0.2-0.5 wt.% palladium on a zeolite carrier. The yield exceeds 95% at quantitative conversion. Figure 2.28 shows the flow diagram for the process. 

Ca.ta.lysis by Protons. The discovery of hydrogen peroxide hydroxylation of phenol in the presence of strong acids such as perchloric, trifluoromethane-sulfonic, or sulfuric acids allows suppression of all previous drawbacks of the process (18,19). This mode of hydroxylation gives high yields (85% based on H2O2 at phenol conversion of 5—6%). It can be mn without solvents and does not generate resorcinol. Its main advantage rehes on... 

Allied-Signal Process. Cyclohexanone [108-94-1] is produced in 98% yield at 95% conversion by liquid-phase catal57tic hydrogenation of phenol. Hydroxylamine sulfate is produced in aqueous solution by the conventional Raschig process, wherein NO from the catalytic air oxidation of ammonia is absorbed in ammonium carbonate solution as ammonium nitrite (eq. 1). The latter is reduced with sulfur dioxide to hydroxylamine disulfonate (eq. 2), which is hydrolyzed to acidic hydroxylamine sulfate solution (eq. 3). 

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... 

The oxidation of cyclohexane to a mixture of cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone, known as KA-od (ketone—alcohol, cyclohexanone—cyclohexanol cmde mixture), is used for most production (1). The earlier technology that used an oxidation catalyst such as cobalt naphthenate at 180—250°C at low conversions (2) has been improved. Cyclohexanol can be obtained through a boric acid-catalyzed cyclohexane oxidation at 140—180°C with up to 10% conversion (3). Unreacted cyclohexane is recycled and the product mixture is separated by vacuum distillation. The hydrogenation of phenol to a mixture of cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone is usually carried out at elevated temperatures and pressure ia either the Hquid (4) or ia the vapor phase (5) catalyzed by nickel. 

A route to phenol has been developed starting from cyclohexane, which is first oxidised to a mixture of cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone. In one process the oxidation is carried out in the liquid phase using cobalt naphthenate as catalyst. The cyclohexanone present may be converted to cyclohexanol, in this case the desired intermediate, by catalytic hydrogenation. The cyclohexanol is converted to phenol by a catalytic process using selenium or with palladium on charcoal. The hydrogen produced in this process may be used in the conversion of cyclohexanone to cyclohexanol. It also may be used in the conversion of benzene to cyclohexane in processes where benzene is used as the precursor of the cyclohexane. 

Because of the industrial magnitude of these processes, many catalysts have been examined with variations in metal distribution, pore size, and alkalinity. In most synthetic work where catalyst life and small variations in yield are not of great importance, most palladium-on-carbon or -on-alumina powder catalysts will be found satisfactory for conversion of phenols to cyclohexanones. Palladium has a relatively low tendency to reduce aliphatic ketones, and a sharp decrease in the rate of absorption occurs at about 2 mol of consumed hydrogen. Nickel may also be used but overhydrogenation is more apt to occur. 

A Comparison of the Degrees of Conversion to Cyclohexanol (xi) in the Hydrogenation of Phenol and of Cyclohexanone, respectively ... 

The corresponding values of the constants are listed in Table IX.Using these values and substituting the conversions for partial pressures as in the hydrogenation of phenol (see p. 32), by numerically solving the system of five differential equations we obtained the curves presented in Fig. 9, which agreed well with experimental points. 

Sulfonic esters are most frequently prepared by treatment of the corresponding halides with alcohols in the presence of a base. The method is much used for the conversion of alcohols to tosylates, brosylates, and similar sulfonic esters. Both R and R may be alkyl or aryl. The base is often pyridine, which functions as a nucleophilic catalyst, as in the similar alcoholysis of carboxylic acyl halides (10-21). Primary alcohols react the most rapidly, and it is often possible to sulfonate selectively a primary OH group in a molecule that also contains secondary or tertiary OH groups. The reaction with sulfonamides has been much less frequently used and is limited to N,N-disubstituted sulfonamides that is, R" may not be hydrogen. However, within these limits it is a useful reaction. The nucleophile in this case is actually R 0 . However, R" may be hydrogen (as well as alkyl) if the nucleophile is a phenol, so that the product is RS020Ar. Acidic catalysts are used in this case. Sulfonic acids have been converted directly to sulfonates by treatment with triethyl or trimethyl orthoformate HC(OR)3, without catalyst or solvent and with a trialkyl phosphite P(OR)3. ... 

Catalysts were prepared with 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 5.0 wt% of iron loaded on activated carbon. Benzene hydroxylation with hydrogen peroxide as oxidant was carried out. The conversion of benzene, selectivity and yield of phenol for these catalysts are shown in Fig. 4. As the weight of loaded metal increased the benzene conversion increased by about 33% but the selectivity to phenol decreased. The yield of phenol that was obtained with S.OFe/AC was about 16%. 

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