Pentane oxidation, pressure

Catalytic tests of n-pentane oxidation were carried out in a laboratory glass flow-reactor, operating at atmospheric pressure, and loading 3 g of catalyst diluted with inert material. Feed composition was 1 mol% n-pentane in air residence time was 2 g s/ml. The temperature of reaction was varied from 340 to 420°C. The products were collected and analyzed by means of gas chromatography. A FlP-l column (FID) was used for the separation of C5 hydrocarbons, MA and PA. A Carbosieve Sll column (TCD) was used for the separation of oxygen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. 

Acridine-9-carbonitrile 10-oxide (la 3.00g, 13.6 mmol) in benzene (1.8 L) in a quartz immersion well was irradiated for 3 h with a Hanovia high-pressure 450-W Hg lamp equipped with a Pyrex filter. The resulting solution was evaporated under reduced pressure and the residue was extracted with pentane (3 x 50 mL). The combined extracts were evaporated under reduced pressure at 20 C to give orange crystals yield 1.8 g (60%) mp 105-109 C (Et20/pentane). 

Pyridine-2,6-dicarbonitrile 1-oxide (500 mg, 3.45 mmol) in CH2C12 (500 mL) was irradiated for 10 h with a high-pressure 450-W Hanovia Hg lamp. The solution was evaporated under reduced pressure and the residue was extracted several times with pentane. The combined extracts were concentrated and the residue was repeatedly recrystallized (pentane) to give yellow needles yield 150mg (30%) mp 61-63 C (dec.). 

Phenylquinoline 1-oxide (10.0 g, 45.2 mmol) in acetone (1.25 L) was irradiated for 12 h with a Hanovia Q-700 medium-pressure Hg lamp, equipped with a Pyrex cooling mantle placed in the center of the reaction vessel, when TLC showed the absence of starting material. The solution was evaporated in vacuo and the residue was extracted with boiling hexane. The extract was evaporated under reduced pressure and the residue was crystallized (pentane) yield 9.0 g (90%) mp 65-66 C. 

The precipitate of triphenylphosphine oxide is filtered and washed with 50 ml. of pentane. The solvent is removed from the combined filtrate at the rotary evaporator under water aspirator pressure at room temperature. Distillation of the residue through a 2-cm. Vigreux column attached to a short-path distillation apparatus (Note 4) provides 13.0-14.0 g. (75-81%) of geranyl chloride, b.p. 47-49° (0.4 mm.), w2Sd = 1.4794 (Note 5). 

The first use of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) as an extraction technique was reported by Zosel [379]. Since then there have been many reports on the use of SFE to extract PCBs, phenols, PAHs, and other organic compounds from particulate matter, soils and sediments [362, 363, 380-389]. The attraction of SFE as an extraction technique is directly related to the unique properties of the supercritical fluid [390]. Supercritical fluids, which have been used, have low viscosities, high diffusion coefficients, and low flammabilities, which are all clearly superior to the organic solvents normally used. Carbon dioxide (C02, [362,363]) is the most common supercritical fluid used for SFE, since it is inexpensive and has a low critical temperature (31.3 °C) and pressure (72.2 bar). Other less commonly used fluids include nitrous oxide (N20), ammonia, fluoro-form, methane, pentane, methanol, ethanol, sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and dichlorofluoromethane [362, 363, 391]. Most of these fluids are clearly less attractive as solvents in terms of toxicity or as environmentally benign chemicals. Commercial SFE systems are available, but some workers have also made inexpensive modular systems [390]. 

The structure of I was confirmed by degradative evidence. Under conditions of high temperature and pressure, I was catalytically hydrogenated to ethylcyclo-pentane to the exclusion of cyclopentane and diethylcyclopentane (64). The structure of II was shown by haloform oxidation to the diacid, followed by facile anhydride formation (94). 

In the present work, therefore, a comparative study of the production of O-heterocycles during the cool-flame combustion of three consecutive n-alkanes—viz., n-butane, n-pentane, and n-hexane—was carried out under a wide range of reaction conditions in a static system. The importance of carbon chain length, mixture composition, pressure, temperature, and time of reaction was assessed. In addition, the optimum conditions for the formation of O-heterocycles and the maximum yields of these products were determined. The results are discussed in the light of currently accepted oxidation mechanisms. 

In connection with the research on destructive hydrogenation at the Institute of High Pressures, Maslyanskii (224) passed benzene at 475° under 200 atm. hydrogen over molybdenum oxide (1 mole CeH6 16 moles Ha) to produce 58% methylcyclopentane, 14% cyclohexane, 8% 2-methyl-pentane, 5% n-hexane, and 8% unreacted. Over molybdenum sulfide the product distribution was similar. The preparation of these catalysts was described by him in 1940 (223). Isomerization and other conversions accompanying destructive hydrogenation were also pointed out by Prokopets and by others (257,311,314). 

The liquid-phase oxidation (LPO) of light saturated hydrocarbons yields acetic acid and a spectrum of coproduct acids, ketones, and esters. Although propane and pentanes have been used, n-butane is the most common feedstock because it can ideally yield two moles of acetic acid. The catalytic LPO process consumes more than 500 million lb of n-butane to produce about 500 million lb of acetic acid, 70 million lb of methyl ethyl ketone, and smaller amounts of vinyl acetate and formic acid. The process employs a liquid-phase, high-pressure (850 psi), 160-180°C oxidation, using acetic acid as a diluent and a cobalt or manganese acetate catalyst. 

Oxidation of n-butane. In the presence of oxygen, Co(l 1) is converted into Co(lll), the actual catalyst for oxidation of alkanes by oxygen thus oxidation of n-butane by Co(lll) ion at 100° at a pressure of 17-24 atm. gives acetic acid (83.5% yield) together with traces of n-butyric acid, propionic acid, and methyl ethyl ketone. Oxidation of n-pentane under similar conditions gives acetic acid (48% yield) and propionic acid (27% yield). Isobutane is relatively inactive. The reaction involves electron transfer in which cobalt ions function as chain carriers. 

There is no direct experimental evidence for this complex decomposition and it may well occur by several steps [107]. However, substantial yields of unsaturated carbonyl compounds are formed particularly at high pressures [78] under initial reaction conditions where cool flames propagate. For example, the cool-flame oxidation of 2-methylpentane at 525 °C and 19.7 atm in a rapid compression machine [78] yields no less than 14 unsaturated carbonyl compounds viz acrolein, methacrolein, but-l-en-3-one, pent-2-enal, pent-l-en-3-one, pent-l-en-4-one, trans-pent-2-en-4r one, 2-methylbut-l-en-3-one, 2-methylpent-l-en-3-one, 4-methylpent-l-en-3-one, 2-methylpent-l-en-4-one, 2-methylpent-2-en-4-one, 2-methyl-pent-2-enal and 4-methylpent-2-enal. Spectroscopic studies of the preflame reactions [78] have shown that the unsaturated ketones account for ca. 90 % of the absorption which, occurs at 2600 A. At lower initial temperatures and pressures acrolein and crotonaldehyde are formed from n-pentane [69, 70] and n-heptane [82], and acrolein is also formed from isobutane [68]. 

Three such tests have been made [77, 78, 85] and good correlations between the theoretical and experimental relative yields were obtained for the O-heterocycles formed from 2-methylpentane [77] and from 3-ethyl-pentane [85] at sub-atmospheric pressures. The most exhaustive test was carried out for the oxidation of 2-methylpentane [78] at 525 °C and 19.7 atm and considered the relative yields of O-heterocycles, conjugate alkenes and j3-scission products. The reaction scheme considered is shown below. 

In the final stages of the reaction, under favourable initial reaction conditions, a sudden temporsiry acceleration of the reaction is observed. This phenomenon, known as the pic d arret , was first observed by Lucquin in the low temperature slow oxidation of n-pentane [142] and subsequently in the high temperature oxidation of other hydrocarbons, e.g. refs. 143, 144. The pic d arret manifests itself as a sudden increase in the intensity (/) of the emission of light and as a peak on the recording of the derivative of the pressure change (IV) against time as shown in Fig. 15 [145]. 

Fig. 21. The variation with surface of the initial percentage yield of major products from the oxidation of n-pentane. Initial temperature = 290 °C initial pressure of n-pentane = 25 torr initial pressure of oxygen = 12.5 torr total pressure = 82 torr volume of reaction vessel = 500 cm. , pent-2-ene o, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran e, acetone , pent-l-ene e, butanone. (From ref. 106.)...

The variation with pressure of the percentage conversion to initial products during the slow oxidation of n-pentane at 250 °C (From refs. 71 and 171.)... 

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