Synthesis of Fine Chemicals

Another valuable application for P450s, aside from the production of pharmaceutically relevant metabolites, is the fabrication of sought-after fine chemicals and flavors that are of interest for the food industry [158]. P450s are interesting biocatalysts for such syntheses, since chirality of the products is often very important. 

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Extremozymes—enzymes that can tolerate relatively harsh conditions, suggested as catalysts for complex organic synthesis of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals (Govardhan and Margolin, 1995). 

In the organic chemicals industry, H2O2 is used in the production of epoxides, propylene oxide, and caprolactones for PVC stabilizers and polyurethanes, in the manufacture of organic peroxy compounds for use as polymerization initiators and curing agents, and in the synthesis of fine chemicals such as hydroquinone, pharmaceuticals (e.g. cephalosporin) and food products (e.g. tartaric acid). 

Bromo compounds are useful intermediates for the synthesis of a range of more complicated organic compounds via direct substitution or by prior conversion into organometallic reagents. They therefore hold a key position in the synthesis of fine chemicals. This position demands that more selective methods for the synthesis of bromo compounds also be developed. In this report we have illustrated the development of selected syntheses of bromoaromatic compounds and demonstrated new ways in which they can be applied in synthetic procedures. 

Electrochemistry is widely used in industry, for example in effluent treatment, corrosion prevention and electroplating as well as in electrochemical synthesis. Electrochemical synthesis is a well-established technology for major processes such as aluminium and chlorine production there is, however, increased interest in the use of electrochemistry for clean synthesis of fine chemicals. The possible green benefits of using electrochemical synthesis include ... 

Interestingly, significant progress has been made for the hydroamination of more reactive substrates such as styrenes, alkynes, dienes, and allenes. Specifically, highly selective catalysts have been discovered for the synthesis of fine chemicals (pharmaceuticals, natural products, chemical intermediates). In this area however, the problem of catalyst stabiUty can also be questioned in several cases. 

High throughput screening is one of the hot topics in heterogeneous catalysis. Advanced experimental techniques have been developed to screen and develop solid catalysts for gas-phase systems. However, for catalytic three-phase systems, rapid screening has got much less attention [1-6]. Three-phase catalysis is applied in numerous industrial processes, from synthesis of fine chemicals to refining of crade oil. 

Immobilization of homogeneous catalysts for hydrogenation reactions concerns essentially enan-tioselective hydrogenations, important for the synthesis of fine chemicals (see Chapter 9.2). The pioneering work of Pugin et al.131 concerns the synthesis of a rhodium-based catalyst, with a diphosphine-pyrrolidine-based ligand for the hydrogenation of methylacetamide cinnamate (Equation(8)). 

Industrial applications of zeolites cover a broad range of technological processes from oil upgrading, via petrochemical transformations up to synthesis of fine chemicals [1,2]. These processes clearly benefit from zeolite well-defined microporous structures providing a possibility of reaction control via shape selectivity [3,4] and acidity [5]. Catalytic reactions, namely transformations of aromatic hydrocarbons via alkylation, isomerization, disproportionation and transalkylation [2], are not only of industrial importance but can also be used to assess the structural features of zeolites [6] especially when combined with the investigation of their acidic properties [7]. A high diversity of zeolitic structures provides us with the opportunity to correlate the acidity, activity and selectivity of different structural types of zeolites. 

Among the wide variety of organic reactions in which zeolites have been employed as catalysts, may be emphasized the transformations of aromatic hydrocarbons of importance in petrochemistry, and in the synthesis of intermediates for pharmaceutical or fragrance products.5 In particular, Friede 1-Crafts acylation and alkylation over zeolites have been widely used for the synthesis of fine chemicals.6 Insights into the mechanism of aromatic acylation over zeolites have been disclosed.7 The production of ethylbenzene from benzene and ethylene, catalyzed by HZSM-5 zeolite and developed by the Mobil-Badger Company, was the first commercialized industrial process for aromatic alkylation over zeolites.8 Other typical examples of zeolite-mediated Friedel-Crafts reactions are the regioselective formation of p-xylene by alkylation of toluene with methanol over HZSM-5,9 or the regioselective p-acylation of toluene with acetic anhydride over HBEA zeolites.10 In both transformations, the p-isomers are obtained in nearly quantitative yield. 

Application of disaccharides to the synthesis of fine chemicals is restricted mostly to sucrose and lactose. 

The weak acidity of the pure OMS materials is disadvantageous for petrochemical processes but for the synthesis of fine chemicals, solids with moderate acidity can be very active catalysts. Table 4.2 gives... 

In conclusion, there is interest for bioethanol upgrading to fuel additives and some research is active in this direction, but much more effort is needed to demonstrate the validity and the viability of the concept of preparing oxygenated diesel fuel additives from bioethanol and glycerol. The key to success is to develop selective multifunctional solid catalysts, in which interest is more general, because similar multifunctionality is necessary in the catalytic synthesis of fine chemicals [67]. There is, thus, the possibility of cross-fertilization between the two research areas. 

Above we have mentioned several heterogeneous applications such as the OCT process and SHOP. Neohexene (3,3-dimethyl-1-butene), an important intermediate in the synthesis of fine chemicals, is produced from the dimer of isobutene, which consists of a mixture of 2,4,4-trimethyl-2-pentene and 2,4,4-trimethyl- 1-pentene. Cross-metathesis of the former with ethene yields the desired product. The catalyst is a mixture of W03/Si02 for metathesis and MgO for isomerisation at 370 °C and 30 bar. The isobutene is recycled to the isobutene dimerisation unit [48],... 

In contrast with other types of carbene complex reaction discussed in this book, which mainly are tools for the synthesis of fine chemicals, the development of olefin metathesis was essentially driven by the petrochemical industry. 

These critical aspects of the classical fluorous biphasic catalysis led in recent works to the development of protocols for the conversions with modified catalyst systems in non-fluorinated hydrocarbons as solvents. As part of the BMBE lighthouse project, Gladyzs and coworkers appHed this concept to C - C coupHng reactions (Suzuki reaction) and other metal-catalyzed addition reactions (hydrosilylation, selective alcoholysis of alkynes), which have direct relevance for the synthesis of fine chemicals and specialties [74]. 

In the realm of C-H bond transformations applied toward the synthesis of fine chemicals, iridium has not achieved the prominence attained in recent years by the second-row platinum group metals, particularly palladium [10]. A notable exception, however, has been the leading role of iridium in the valuable chemistry of arene borylation [11]. 

The manufacturing of the API is in principle a synthesis of fine chemicals with high quality requirements for the final product and a tight external regulatory framework. In API manufacturing, the process steps, physical and chemical characteristics of the sample and equipment are very similar to the chemical industries ... 

Membrane reactors have been investigated since the 1970s 11). Although membranes can have several functions in a reactor, the most obvious is the separation of reaction components. Initially, the focus has been mainly on polymeric membranes applied in enzymatic reactions, and ultrafiltration of enzymes is commercially applied on a large scale for the synthesis of fine chemicals (e.g., L-methionine) 12). Membrane materials have been improved significantly over those applied initially, and nanofiltration membranes suitable to retain relatively small compounds are now available commercially (e.g., mass cut-off of 400—750 Da). 

The Knoevenagel condensation is a cross-aldol condensation of a carbonyl compound with an active methylene compound leading to C-C bond formation (Scheme 7). This reaction has wide application in the synthesis of fine chemicals and is classically catalyzed by bases in solution (146,147). 

For the synthesis of fine chemicals, carbonylation, reductive carbonylation, and oxidative carbonylation of methanol can be applied as outlined in Table II. 

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