Etherifications

The potential advantages of LPG concern essentially the environmental aspects. LPG s are simple mixtures of 3- and 4-carbon-atom hydrocarbons with few contaminants (very low sulfur content). LPG s contain no noxious additives such as lead and their exhaust emissions have little or no toxicity because aromatics are absent. This type of fuel also benefits often enough from a lower taxation. In spite of that, the use of LPG motor fuel remains static in France, if not on a slightly downward trend. There are several reasons for this situation little interest from automobile manufacturers, reluctance on the part of automobile customers, competition in the refining industry for other uses of and fractions, (alkylation, etherification, direct addition into the gasoline pool). However, in 1993 this subject seems to have received more interest (Hublin et al., 1993). 

Table 10.7 shows the typical composition of a feedstock to an etherification unit and the average product properties obtained. 

Furthermore, the major problem of reducing aromatics is focused around gasoline production. Catalytic reforming could decrease in capacity and severity. Catalytic cracking will have to be oriented towards light olefins production. Etherification, alkylation and oligomerization units will undergo capacity increases. 

We cite isomerization of Cs-Ce paraffinic cuts, aliphatic alkylation making isoparaffinic gasoline from C3-C5 olefins and isobutane, and etherification of C4-C5 olefins with the C1-C2 alcohols. This type of refinery can need more hydrogen than is available from naphtha reforming. Flexibility is greatly improved over the simple conventional refinery. Nonetheless some products are not eliminated, for example, the heavy fuel of marginal quality, and the conversion product qualities may not be adequate, even after severe treatment, to meet certain specifications such as the gasoline octane number, diesel cetane number, and allowable levels of certain components. 

Ether alcohols Ether formation Ether hydroperoxides Etherification... 

Cellulosics. CeUulosic adhesives are obtained by modification of cellulose [9004-34-6] (qv) which comes from cotton linters and wood pulp. Cellulose can be nitrated to provide cellulose nitrate [9004-70-0] which is soluble in organic solvents. When cellulose nitrate is dissolved in amyl acetate [628-63-7] for example, a general purpose solvent-based adhesive which is both waterproof and flexible is formed. Cellulose esterification leads to materials such as cellulose acetate [9004-35-7], which has been used as a pressure-sensitive adhesive tape backing. Cellulose can also be ethoxylated, providing hydroxyethylceUulose which is useful as a thickening agent for poly(vinyl acetate) emulsion adhesives. Etherification leads to materials such as methylceUulose [9004-67-5] which are soluble in water and can be modified with glyceral [56-81-5] to produce adhesives used as wallpaper paste (see Cellulose esters Cellulose ethers). 

Isomerization. Isomerization is a catalytic process which converts normal paraffins to isoparaffins. The feed is usually light virgin naphtha and the catalyst platinum on an alumina or zeoflte base. Octanes may be increased by over 30 numbers when normal pentane and normal hexane are isomerized. Another beneficial reaction that occurs is that any benzene in the feed is converted to cyclohexane. Although isomerization produces high quahty blendstocks, it is also used to produce feeds for alkylation and etherification processes. Normal butane, which is generally in excess in the refinery slate because of RVP concerns, can be isomerized and then converted to alkylate or to methyl tert-huty ether (MTBE) with a small increase in octane and a large decrease in RVP. 

Chemical Properties. Neopentyl glycol can undergo typical glycol reactions such as esterification (qv), etherification, condensation, and oxidation. When basic kinetic studies of the esterification rate were carried out for neopentyl glycol, the absolute esterification rate of neopentyl glycol with / -butyric acid was approximately 20 times that of ethylene glycol with / -butyric acid (7). 

Substitution Reactions on Side Chains. Because the benzyl carbon is the most reactive site on the propanoid side chain, many substitution reactions occur at this position. Typically, substitution reactions occur by attack of a nucleophilic reagent on a benzyl carbon present in the form of a carbonium ion or a methine group in a quinonemethide stmeture. In a reversal of the ether cleavage reactions described, benzyl alcohols and ethers may be transformed to alkyl or aryl ethers by acid-catalyzed etherifications or transetherifications with alcohol or phenol. The conversion of a benzyl alcohol or ether to a sulfonic acid group is among the most important side chain modification reactions because it is essential to the solubilization of lignin in the sulfite pulping process (17). 

Etherification. Many of the mono alkylphenols and some of the dialkylphenols are converted into ethoxylates which find commercial apphcation as nonionic surfactants (9). For example, -nonylphenol reacts with ethylene oxide under mild basic conditions. 

Etherification. Ethers of amyl alcohols have been prepared by reaction with ben2hydrol (63), activated aromatic haUdes (64), dehydration-addition reactions (65), addition to olefins (66—71), alkoxylation with olefin oxides (72,73) and displacement reactions involving thek alkah metal salts (74—76). 

Etherification. Isopropyl alcohol can be dehydrated ia either the Hquid phase over acidic catalysts, eg, sulfuric acid, or ia the vapor phase over acidic aluminas to give diisopropyl ether (DIPE) and propylene (qv). 

Propylene oxide is a useful chemical intermediate. Additionally, it has found use for etherification of wood (qv) to provide dimensional stabiUty (255,256), for purification of mixtures of organosiUcon compounds (257), for disinfection of cmde oil and petroleum products (258), for steriliza tion of medical equipment and disinfection of foods (259,260), and for stabilization of halogenated organics (261—263). 

Etherification and esterification of hydroxyl groups produce derivatives, some of which are produced commercially. Derivatives may also be obtained by graft polymerization wherein free radicals, initiated on the starch backbone by ceric ion or irradiation, react with monomers such as vinyl or acrylyl derivatives. A number of such copolymers have been prepared and evaluated in extmsion processing (49). A starch—acrylonitrile graft copolymer has been patented (50) which rapidly absorbs many hundred times its weight in water and has potential appHcations in disposable diapers and medical suppHes. 

Etherification. The reaction of alkyl haUdes with sugar polyols in the presence of aqueous alkaline reagents generally results in partial etherification. Thus, a tetraaHyl ether is formed on reaction of D-mannitol with aHyl bromide in the presence of 20% sodium hydroxide at 75°C (124). Treatment of this partial ether with metallic sodium to form an alcoholate, followed by reaction with additional aHyl bromide, leads to hexaaHyl D-mannitol (125). Complete methylation of D-mannitol occurs, however, by the action of dimethyl sulfate and sodium hydroxide (126). A mixture of tetra- and pentabutyloxymethyl ethers of D-mannitol results from the action of butyl chloromethyl ether (127). Completely substituted trimethylsilyl derivatives of polyols, distillable in vacuo, are prepared by interaction with trim ethyl chi oro s il an e in the presence of pyridine (128). Hexavinylmannitol is obtained from D-mannitol and acetylene at 25.31 MPa (250 atm) and 160°C (129). 

Reaction of olefin oxides (epoxides) to produce poly(oxyalkylene) ether derivatives is the etherification of polyols of greatest commercial importance. Epoxides used include ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, and epichl orohydrin. The products of oxyalkylation have the same number of hydroxyl groups per mole as the starting polyol. Examples include the poly(oxypropylene) ethers of sorbitol (130) and lactitol (131), usually formed in the presence of an alkaline catalyst such as potassium hydroxide. Reaction of epichl orohydrin and isosorbide leads to the bisglycidyl ether (132). A polysubstituted carboxyethyl ether of mannitol has been obtained by the interaction of mannitol with acrylonitrile followed by hydrolysis of the intermediate cyanoethyl ether (133). 

Because vanillin is a phenol aldehyde, it is stable to autooxidation and does not undergo the Cannizzarro reaction. Numerous derivatives can be prepared by etherification or esterification of the hydroxy group and by aldol condensation at the aldehyde group. AH three functional groups in vanillin are... 

Etherification. Ethers of poly(vinyl alcohol) are easily formed. Insoluble internal ethers are formed by the elimination of water, a reaction cataly2ed by mineral acids and alkaU. 

Methyl tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE). Methyl tert-hutyi ether [1634-04-4] is made by the etherification of isobutylane with methanol, and there are six commercially proven technologies available. These technologies have been developed by Arco, IFF, CDTECH, Phillips, Snamprogetti, and Hbls (hcensed jointly with UOP). The catalyst in all cases is an acidic ion-exchange resin. The United States has been showing considerable interest in this product. Western Europe has been manufacturing it since 1973 (ANIC in Italy and Huls in Germany). Production of MTBE in Western Europe exceeded 600,000 tons in 1990. 

The various sources of isobutylene are C streams from fluid catalytic crackers, olefin steam crackers, isobutane dehydrogenation units, and isobutylene produced by Arco as a coproduct with propylene oxide. Isobutylene concentrations (weight basis) are 12 to 15% from fluid catalytic crackers, 45% from olefin steam crackers, 45 to 55% from isobutane dehydrogenation, and high purity isobutylene coproduced with propylene oxide. The etherification unit should be designed for the specific feedstock that will be processed. 

Etherification. Carbohydrates are involved in ether formation, both intramoleculady and intermoleculady (1,13). The cycHc ether, 1,4-sorbitan, an 1,4-anhydroalditol, has already been mentioned. 3,6-Anhydro-a-D-galactopyranosyl units are principal monomer units of the carrageenans. Methyl, ethyl, carboxymethyl, hydroxyethyl, and hydroxypropyl ethers of cellulose (qv) are all commercial materials. The principal starch ethers are the hydroxyethyl and hydroxypropylethers (see Cellulose ethers Starch). 

Every polysaccharide contains glycosyl units with unsubstituted hydroxyl groups available for esterification or etherification. Polysaccharide derivatives are described by their degree of substitution (DS), which is the average number of substituent groups per glycosyl unit. Because each monomeric unit of cellulose molecules has free hydroxyl groups at C-2, C-3, and C-6, the maximum DS for cellulose, and all polysaccharides composed exclusively of neutral hexosyl units, the majority of polysaccharides, is 3.0. 

Several derivatives of cellulose, including cellulose acetate, can be prepared in solution in dimethylacetamide—lithium chloride (65). Reportedly, this combination does not react with the hydroxy groups, thus leaving them free for esterification or etherification reactions. In another homogeneous-solution method, cellulose is treated with dinitrogen tetroxide in DMF to form the soluble cellulose nitrite ester this is then ester-interchanged with acetic anhydride (66). With pyridine as the catalyst, this method yields cellulose acetate with DS < 2.0. 

Etherification. A mixture of ethylene chlorohydrin ia 30% aqueous NaOH may be added to phenol at 100—110°C to give 2-phenoxyethanol [122-99-6] ia 98% yield (39). A cationic starch ether is made by reaction of a chlorohydfin-quaternary ammonium compound such as... 

Etherification. The accessible, available hydroxyl groups on the 2, 3, and 6 positions of the anhydroglucose residue are quite reactive (40) and provide sites for much of the current modification of cotton ceUulose to impart special or value-added properties. The two most common classes into which modifications fall include etherification and esterification of the cotton ceUulose hydroxyls as weU as addition reactions with certain unsaturated compounds to produce ceUulose ethers (see Cellulose, ethers). One large class of ceUulose-reactive dyestuffs in commercial use attaches to the ceUulose through an alkaH-catalyzed etherification by nucleophilic attack of the chlorotriazine moiety of the dyestuff ... 

---