Other commercial electrosynthetic processes

The past 25 years have seen an explosion of academic interest in organic 

Firstly, there is a preponderance of reactions in aqueous solutions (in sharp contrast to the journal literature) and several oxidations in methanol, while aprotic solvents only appear in a few reactions as mixtures with water. The major reason for this is associated with the stability of the electrolysis medium especially with respect to the counter-electrode reaction. The cxidation/reduc-tion of water leads only to Oj-f and Hj + OH and the reduction of methanol to Hj and CHjO , Hence, these reactions may conveniently be used to maintain the pH of the electrolyte at a constant level while leading to no contamination of the system. In contrast, the oxidation/reduction of aprotic 

USA 3 X 10 Two-phase a neou phos- Monsanto Mark 1 process Europe, phate buffer+acrylonitrile, operated since 1964. Mark II 

Japan Undivided bipolar parallel- on-line during 1970s. Several 

Pb cathode In H2SO4. medium. Filterpress-divided ceil 

The past 25 years have seen an explosion of academic interest in organic electrochemistry and a very large number of chemical transformations at 

Monsanto Mark I process operated since 1964. Mark II on-line during 1970s. Several related processes known to operate 

Pb cathode in H2SO4 medium. Filterpress-divided cell 

It is not the intention to discuss each of the reactions in Table 6.2 and only a few illustrative examples of recent processes will be presented. In Germany, BASF identified 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde as a key intermediate for the synthesis of several products and p-cresol as the likely feedstock. They were aware that 

Another methoxylation process recently commercialized by Otsuka in Japan is a stage in the manufacture of the food additive maltol. The electrode reactions are  

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On the other hand, what are the problems which presently prevent the widespread commercial exploitation of organic electrosynthesis First we must recognize that organic electrosynthetic processes are chemically much more complex than any other processes considered in this book. Usually the overall electrode reaction is not simple electron transfer, but is a sequence of electron transfers and coupled chemical processes either on the electrode surface or in... 

During recent years, a significant number of organic electrosyntheses have been scaled-up to pilot or commercial scale, and some of these have been described at conferences and in reports or book chapters. It is important that research teams starting the development of a new electrosynthetic process learn from the labors of others, and do not repeat their efforts and mistakes to slowly reinvent the wheel is not an advance ... 

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