Oxidations nitric acid

With more concentrated nitric acid, oxides of nitrogen are formed. 

Nitric acid oxidizes the 5-thiocyanato group to the sulfate (360). 

Hydrogen sulflde Euming nitric acid, oxidizing gases, peroxides... 

Paraldehyde Alkalies, HCN, iodides, nitric acid, oxidizers... 

Oxidation. Acetaldehyde is readily oxidised with oxygen or air to acetic acid, acetic anhydride, and peracetic acid (see Acetic acid and derivatives). The principal product depends on the reaction conditions. Acetic acid [64-19-7] may be produced commercially by the Hquid-phase oxidation of acetaldehyde at 65°C using cobalt or manganese acetate dissolved in acetic acid as a catalyst (34). Liquid-phase oxidation in the presence of mixed acetates of copper and cobalt yields acetic anhydride [108-24-7] (35). Peroxyacetic acid or a perester is beheved to be the precursor in both syntheses. There are two commercial processes for the production of peracetic acid [79-21 -0]. Low temperature oxidation of acetaldehyde in the presence of metal salts, ultraviolet irradiation, or osone yields acetaldehyde monoperacetate, which can be decomposed to peracetic acid and acetaldehyde (36). Peracetic acid can also be formed directiy by Hquid-phase oxidation at 5—50°C with a cobalt salt catalyst (37) (see Peroxides and peroxy compounds). Nitric acid oxidation of acetaldehyde yields glyoxal [107-22-2] (38,39). Oxidations of /)-xylene to terephthaHc acid [100-21-0] and of ethanol to acetic acid are activated by acetaldehyde (40,41). 

Although many variations of the cyclohexane oxidation step have been developed or evaluated, technology for conversion of the intermediate ketone—alcohol mixture to adipic acid is fundamentally the same as originally developed by Du Pont in the early 1940s (98,99). This step is accomplished by oxidation with 40—60% nitric acid in the presence of copper and vanadium catalysts. The reaction proceeds at high rate, and is quite exothermic. Yield of adipic acid is 92—96%, the major by-products being the shorter chain dicarboxytic acids, glutaric and succinic acids,and CO2. Nitric acid is reduced to a combination of NO2, NO, N2O, and N2. Since essentially all commercial adipic acid production arises from nitric acid oxidation, the trace impurities patterns ate similar in the products of most manufacturers. 

Fig. 3. Typical nitric acid oxidation process. A, reactor B, optional cleanup reactor C, bleacher D, NO absorber E, concentrating stUl F, crude crystallizer G, centrifuge or filter H, refined crystallizer I, centrifuge or filter , dryer K, purge evaporator L, purge crystallizer M, centrifuge or filter N,...

Other processes explored, but not commercialized, include the direct nitric acid oxidation of cyclohexane to adipic acid (140—143), carbonylation of 1,4-butanediol [110-63-4] (144), and oxidation of cyclohexane with ozone [10028-15-5] (145—148) or hydrogen peroxide [7722-84-1] (149—150). Production of adipic acid as a by-product of biological reactions has been explored in recent years (151—156). 

Quality Specifications. Because of the extreme sensitivity of polyamide synthesis to impurities ia the iagredients (eg, for molecular-weight control, dye receptivity), adipic acid is one of the purest materials produced on a large scale. In addition to food-additive and polyamide specifications, other special requirements arise from the variety of other appHcations. Table 8 summarizes the more important specifications. Typical impurities iaclude monobasic acids arising from the air oxidation step ia synthesis, and lower dibasic acids and nitrogenous materials from the nitric acid oxidation step. Trace metals, water, color, and oils round out the usual specification Hsts. 

Other possible chemical synthesis routes for lactic acid include base-cataly2ed degradation of sugars oxidation of propylene glycol reaction of acetaldehyde, carbon monoxide, and water at elevated temperatures and pressures hydrolysis of chloropropionic acid (prepared by chlorination of propionic acid) nitric acid oxidation of propylene etc. None of these routes has led to a technically and economically viable process (6). 

Nitric acid oxidation is used where carbohydrates, ethylene glycol, and propylene are the starting materials. The diaLkyl oxalate process is the newest, where diaLkyl oxalate is synthesized from carbon monoxide and alcohol, then hydrolyzed to oxahc acid. This process has been developed by UBE Industries in Japan as a CO coupling technology in the course of exploring C-1 chemistry. 

Ethylene Glycol Process. Oxahc acid is also prepared by the nitric acid oxidation of ethylene glycol (15—21), and the process is basically the same as in the case of carbohydrates except for the absence of the hydrolyzer (see Eig. 1). In this process, ethylene glycol is oxidized in a mixture of... 

Initial production of the dimethyl terephthalate started with the oxidation of -xylene to terephthaUc acid using nitric acid both companies reportedly used similar technology (43—45). Versions of the nitric acid oxidation process, which has been abandoned commercially, involved the use of air in the initial oxidation step to reduce the consumption of nitric acid (44,46,47). The terephthaUc acid was then esterified with methanol to produce dimethyl terephthalate, which could be purified by distillation to the necessary degree (48). 

The alkyl pyridines (6) and (7) can be transformed either to nicotinic acid or nicotinonitrile. In the case of nicotinic acid, these transformations can occur by either chemical or biological means. From an industrial standpoint, the majority of nicotinic acid is produced by the nitric acid oxidation of 2-meth5i-5-ethylpyridine. Although not of industrial significance, the air oxidation has also been reported. Isocinchomeronic acid (10) (Fig. 2) is formed as an intermediate. 

Nitric acid oxidizes antimony forming a gelantinous precipitate of a hydrated antimony pentoxide (8). With sulfuric acid an indefinite compound of low solubihty, probably an oxysulfate, is formed. Hydrofluoric acid forms fluorides or fluocomplexes with many insoluble antimony compounds. Hydrochloric acid in the absence of air does not readily react with antimony. Antimony also forms complex ions with organic acids. 

Benzoic acid [65-85-0] C H COOH, the simplest member of the aromatic carboxyHc acid family, was first described in 1618 by a French physician, but it was not until 1832 that its stmcture was deterrnined by Wn b1er and Liebig. In the nineteenth century benzoic acid was used extensively as a medicinal substance and was prepared from gum benzoin. Benzoic acid was first produced synthetically by the hydrolysis of benzotrichloride. Various other processes such as the nitric acid oxidation of toluene were used until the 1930s when the decarboxylation of phthaUc acid became the dominant commercial process. During World War II in Germany the batchwise Hquid-phase air oxidation of toluene became an important process. 

Benzyl chloride readily forms a Grignard compound by reaction with magnesium in ether with the concomitant formation of substantial coupling product, 1,2-diphenylethane [103-29-7]. Benzyl chloride is oxidized first to benzaldehyde [100-52-7] and then to benzoic acid. Nitric acid oxidizes directly to benzoic acid [65-85-0]. Reaction with ethylene oxide produces the benzyl chlorohydrin ether, CgH CH20CH2CH2Cl (18). Benzylphosphonic acid [10542-07-1] is formed from the reaction of benzyl chloride and triethyl phosphite followed by hydrolysis (19). 

In other words, by the nitric acid oxidation it is difficult to obtain a product completely free from benzoin. The yields by the nitric acid method are generally about 95-96 per cent, whereas with the copper sulfate-pyridine method the yield drops to approximately 86 per cent. 

Copper, chromium, iron, most metals or their salts, any flammable liquid, combustible materials, aniline, nitromethane Fuming nitric acid, oxidizing gases Acetylene, ammonia (anhydrous or aqueous)... 

The assumption of these conjugated double bonds makes possible a tetracyclic nucleus which accords with the suggestion previously made by the authors that these alkaloids might be structurally related to the diterpenes. It may also be noted that one of the nitric acid oxidation products of pseudaconitine has been recorded as unexpectedly giving a pyrrole reaction on destructive distillation. ... 

The quindoline 224 may be prepared by the condensation of indoxyl-2-carboxylic acid with 6-aminopiperonaldehyde in the presence of hydrochloric acid, when decarboxylation and cyclization take place. Nitric acid oxidation of 224 gave an unstable nitrodicarboxylic acid which decarboxylated readily to a nitromonocarboxylic acid formulated as 8-nitro-8-carboline-3-carboxylic acid (225). ... 

Alkali fusion of the metabolite furnished p-hydroxybenzoic acid in good yield as the only isolable product. Vigorous nitric acid oxidation of M gave a high yield of picric acid. Both degradation products must have arisen from the same site, which can be represented by part structure V. While positions 3 and 5 are probably unsubstituted, the vigorous nature of the degradations allows that those at 2 and 6 could bear carbon atoms. 

A detailed study revealed that sulphides may react with nitric acid to give sulphoxides, sulphones and their nitro derivatives54. However, under suitable conditions the nitric acid oxidation of sulphides leads to a selective formation of sulphoxides. This is probably due to the formation of a sulphonium salt 30 which is resistant to further oxidation50 (equation 12). 

Oxidation of either alkyl or aryl sulphoxides to sulphones in 65-90% yields may be accomplished by treatment with a nitronium salt15. In the case of aryl sulphoxides no nitration is observed (which is in contrast to the results of nitric acid oxidation). The reaction was shown to proceed through intermediate nitratosulphonium and nitritosulph-oxonium ions, as depicted in equation (7), which were studied by nmr spectroscopy. 

Nitrogen dioxide, N02 (oxidation number -t-4), is a choking, poisonous, brown gas that contributes to the color and odor of smog. The molecule has an odd number of electrons, and in the gas phase it exists in equilibrium with its colorless dimer N204. Only the dimer exists in the solid, and so the brown gas condenses to a colorless solid. When it dissolves in water, NOz disproportionates into nitric acid (oxidation number +5) and nitrogen oxide (oxidation number +2) ... 

The various methods that are used for the production of aromatic acids from the corresponding substituted toluenes are outlined in Figure 1. The first two methods -chlorination/hydrolysis and nitric acid oxidation - have the disadvantage of relatively low atom utilization (ref. 13) with the concomitant inorganic salt production. Catalytic autoxidation, in contrast, has an atom utilization of 87% (for Ar=Ph) and produces no inorganic salts and no chlorinated or nitrated byproducts. It consumes only the cheap raw material, oxygen, and produces water as the only byproduct. 

You are the Production Manager for a plant producing adipic acid by the nitric acid oxidation of a mixture of cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol. Your company is preparing for ISO 14001 registration. 

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