Phloroglucinol manufacture

American scientists at LLNL have studied all aspects of scaling-up followed by optimization of parameters and it appears that TATB would be manufactured by them in future by following the TMHI route. However, a new method proposed by the UK scientists is still at the laboratory scale in UK. According to a recent report in the literature, ATK Thiokol, Inc, USA has performed considerable route development for an alternate TATB process starting with phloroglucinol via Scheme 2.1. 

With sodium polysulphide, sym-trinitrobenzene yields tetranitroazoxybenzene along with dinitroaniline. All three nitro groups can be reduced by tin or iron in hydrochloric acid, triaminobenzenc being formed, which is the starting material for the manufacture of phloroglucinol. sym-Trinitrobenzene can react with sodium borohydride to yield trinitrocyclohexane (Severin [66]). 

An interesting example, to further illustrate the concepts of E factors and atom efficiency is the manufacture of phloroglucinol [23]. Traditionally, it was produced from 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) as shown in Fig. 1.2, a perfect example of nineteenth century organic chemistry. 

Caustic fusion of resorcinol has been used for the manufacture of trihydroxy benzene, phloroglucinol. 

The properties of the particleboard manufactured with this system using pine tannin adhesives are listed in Table 2. The results obtainable with this system are then quite good and not too different from the results obtainable with some of the other tannin adhesives already described. In the case of phloroglucinolic tannin extracts being used, no pH adjustment of the solution is needed. One point that was given close consideration is the deactivating effect of water on the isocyanate group of pMDI. It has been found... 

Sumitomo Chemical has developed a new process for the manufacture of phloroglucinol which is used in relatively small amounts as a pharmaceutical intermediate. It is based on the oxidative cleavage of 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene, in a method similar to the Hock process for the production of phenol. 

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