Propylene Wacker-Hoechst oxidation

The most important source of acetone is the Hock process for phenol production. In this process acetone is obtained as stoichiometric coupling product. If acetone needs to be produced deliberately, it can be obtained by oxidative dehydrogenation or dehydrogenation of isopropanol. Oxidative dehydrogenation proceeds at 400-600 °C at silver or copper contacts, direct dehydrogenation is carried out at 300-400 °C using zinc contacts. Alternatively, acetone can also be obtained by a Wacker-Hoechst oxidation of propylene. Acetone is used industrially as solvent. Moreover, the aldol condensate products of acetone (diacetone alcohol) are used as solvents. Acetone is also converted in an add catalyzed reaction with two moles of phenol for the synthesis of bisphenol A. Bisphenol A is an important feedstock for the production of epoxy resins and polycarbonates. 

The Wacker-Hoechst process has been practised commercially since 1964. In this liquid phase process propylene is oxidized to acetone with air at 110-120°C and 10-14 bar in the presence of a catalyst system containing PdCl2. As in the oxidation of ethylene, Pd(II) oxidizes propylene to acetone and is reduced to Pd(0) in a stoichiometric reaction, and is then reoxidized with the CuCl2/CuCl redox system. The selectivity to acetone is 92% propionaldehyde is also formed with a selectivity of 2-4%. The conversion of propylene is more than 99%. 

The direct oxidation of ethylene is used to produce acetaldehyde (qv) in the Wacker-Hoechst process. The catalyst system is an aqueous solution of palladium chloride and cupric chloride. Under appropriate conditions an olefin can be oxidized to form an unsaturated aldehyde such as the production of acrolein [107-02-8] from propylene (see Acrolein and derivatives). 

Acetone production by the direct oxidation of propylene (Hoechst/Wacker process)... 

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