Thermal methanol

Geissler, K., Newson, E., Vogel, E, Truong, T.-B., Hottinger, P., and Wokaun, A. Auto-thermal methanol reforming for hydrogen production in fuel cell applications. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2001, 3, 289. 

The photolytic dehydrogenation of methanol in the presence of Rh catalysts is sensitized by acetone products are CH2O, H2, CH2(0Me)2 and those derived from CH2OH radicals. Binuclear Rh and Pd dppm complexes are also effective. Addition of acetone to the methanol medium changes the gas-phase composition from pure H2 to methane and CO. The first thermal methanol dehydrogenation uses Ru2(0Ad)i,Cl/PEtPh2 as catalyst precursor. ... 

Enders et al. isolated the first triazol-5-ylidene 68 by thermal methanol elimination from 5-methoxytriazoline in 1995 (see Scheme l.lOa). 68 was stable up... 

Figure 2.7 Two alternative reactor designs for methanol production give quite different thermal profiles.

Zhou and colleagues determined the %w/w H2O in methanol by GG, using a capillary column coated with a nonpolar stationary phase and a thermal conductivity detector. A series of calibration standards gave the following results. 

Synthesis gas is obtained either from methane reforming or from coal gasification (see Coal conversion processes). Telescoping the methanol carbonylation into an esterification scheme furnishes methyl acetate directly. Thermal decomposition of methyl acetate yields carbon and acetic anhydride,... 

With aldehydes, primary alcohols readily form acetals, RCH(OR )2. Acetone also forms acetals (often called ketals), (CH2)2C(OR)2, in an exothermic reaction, but the equiUbrium concentration is small at ambient temperature. However, the methyl acetal of acetone, 2,2-dimethoxypropane [77-76-9] was once made commercially by reaction with methanol at low temperature for use as a gasoline additive (5). Isopropenyl methyl ether [116-11-OJ, useful as a hydroxyl blocking agent in urethane and epoxy polymer chemistry (6), is obtained in good yield by thermal pyrolysis of 2,2-dimethoxypropane. With other primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols, the equiUbrium is progressively less favorable to the formation of ketals, in that order. However, acetals of acetone with other primary and secondary alcohols, and of other ketones, can be made from 2,2-dimethoxypropane by transacetalation procedures (7,8). Because they hydroly2e extensively, ketals of primary and especially secondary alcohols are effective water scavengers. 

The reaction occurs at essentially adiabatic conditions with a large temperature rise at the inlet surface of the catalyst. The predominant temperature control is thermal ballast in the form of excess methanol or steam, or both, which is in the feed. If a plant is to produce a product containing 50 to 55% formaldehyde and no more than 1.5% methanol, the amount of steam that can be added is limited, and both excess methanol and steam are needed as ballast. Recycled methanol requited for a 50—55% product is 0.25—0.50 parts per part of fresh methanol (76,77). 

Methanol can be converted to a dye after oxidation to formaldehyde and subsequent reaction with chromatropic acid [148-25-4]. The dye formed can be deterruined photometrically. However, gc methods are more convenient. Ammonium formate [540-69-2] is converted thermally to formic acid and ammonia. The latter is trapped by formaldehyde, which makes it possible to titrate the residual acid by conventional methods. The water content can be determined by standard Kad Eischer titration. In order to determine iron, it has to be reduced to the iron(II) form and converted to its bipyridyl complex. This compound is red and can be determined photometrically. Contamination with iron and impurities with polymeric hydrocyanic acid are mainly responsible for the color number of the merchandized formamide (<20 APHA). Hydrocyanic acid is detected by converting it to a blue dye that is analyzed and deterruined photometrically. 

Related examples of silicon-containing titanocycles have also been prepared (282). These compounds are air-stable and not decomposed by methanol. When CpCpWiClOAr reacts with Grignard reagents, the aryloxy group is replaced by R, not by Cl (283). Compounds of the formula (Cp2TiR)20 prepared from (CP2TiCl)20 + RLi, where Ris CH, C2H, CgH, y)-tolyl, CgH CM2, or CH2=CH, are thermally stable and quite stable to air (283,284). 

Since the thermal dehydrocondensation proceeds by a free-radical mechanism (37), various radical-forrning promoters like acetone, ethanol, or methanol have been found useful in improving conversion of ben2ene to condensed polyphenyls. In the commercial dehydrocondensation process, ben2ene and some biphenyl are separated by distillation and recycled back to the dehydrocondensation step. Pure biphenyl is then collected leaving a polyphenyl residue consisting of approximately 4% o-terphenyl, 44% y -terphenyl, 25% -terphenyl, 1.5% triphenylene, and 22—27% higher polyphenyl and tars. Distillation of this residue at reduced pressure affords the mixed terphenyl isomers accompanied by a portion of the quaterphenyls present. 

Thermal chlorination of methane was first put on an industrial scale by Hoechst in Germany in 1923. At that time, high pressure methanol synthesis from hydrogen and carbon monoxide provided a new source of methanol for production of methyl chloride by reaction with hydrogen chloride. Prior to 1914 attempts were made to estabHsh an industrial process for methanol by hydrolysis of methyl chloride obtained by chlorinating methane. 

Although ethylene is produced by various methods as follows, only a few are commercially proven thermal cracking of hydrocarbons, catalytic pyrolysis, membrane dehydrogenation of ethane, oxydehydrogenation of ethane, oxidative coupling of methane, methanol to ethylene, dehydration of ethanol, ethylene from coal, disproportionation of propylene, and ethylene as a by-product. 

Aminothiophenes and 3-aminobenzo[Z)]thiophene undergo thermal [2 + 2] cycloaddi-tion reactions with activated alkynes. The reactions are solvent dependent thus in non-polar solvents at -30 °C, 3-pyrrolidinothiophene adds to DMAD to give a [2 + 2] cycloadduct which is ultimately converted into a phthalic ester. In methanol, however, a tricyclic product is formed (Scheme 54) (81JOC424. ... 

FIG. 23-3 Temperature and composition profiles, a) Oxidation of SOp with intercooling and two cold shots, (h) Phosgene from GO and Gfi, activated carbon in 2-in tubes, water cooled, (c) Gumene from benzene and propylene, phosphoric acid on < uartz, with four quench zones, 260°G. (d) Mild thermal cracking of a heavy oil in a tubular furnace, hack pressure of 250 psig and sever heat fluxes, Btu/(fr-h), T in °F. (e) Vertical ammonia svi,ithesizer at 300 atm, with five cold shots and an internal exchanger. (/) Vertical methanol svi,ithesizer at 300 atm, Gr O -ZnO catalyst, with six cold shots totaling 10 to 20 percent of the fresh feed. To convert psi to kPa, multiply by 6.895 atm to kPa, multiply by 101.3. 

Dente and Ranzi (in Albright et al., eds.. Pyrolysis Theory and Industrial Practice, Academic Press, 1983, pp. 133-175) Mathematical modehng of hydrocarbon pyrolysis reactions Shah and Sharma (in Carberry and Varma, eds.. Chemical Reaction and Reaction Engineering Handbook, Dekker, 1987, pp. 713-721) Hydroxylamine phosphate manufacture in a slurry reactor Some aspects of a kinetic model of methanol synthesis are described in the first example, which is followed by a second example that describes coping with the multiphcity of reactants and reactions of some petroleum conversion processes. Then two somewhat simph-fied industrial examples are worked out in detail mild thermal cracking and production of styrene. Even these calculations are impractical without a computer. The basic data and mathematics and some of the results are presented. 

Bead Polymerization Bulk reaction proceeds in independent droplets of 10 to 1,000 [Lm diameter suspended in water or other medium and insulated from each other by some colloid. A typical suspending agent is polyvinyl alcohol dissolved in water. The polymerization can be done to high conversion. Temperature control is easy because of the moderating thermal effect of the water and its low viscosity. The suspensions sometimes are unstable and agitation may be critical. Only batch reaciors appear to be in industrial use polyvinyl acetate in methanol, copolymers of acrylates and methacrylates, polyacrylonitrile in aqueous ZnCh solution, and others. Bead polymerization of styrene takes 8 to 12 h. 

The maximum attainable production was sought that did not cause thermal runaway. By gradually increasing the temperature of the water, boiling under pressure in the reactor jacket, the condition was found for the incipient onset of thermal instability. Runaway set in at 485.2 to 485.5 K for the 12 m reactor and at 435.0 to 435.5 K for the shorter, 1.2 m reactor. The smaller reactor reached its maximum operation limit at 50 K lower than the larger reactor. The large reactor produced 33 times more methanol, instead of the 10 times more expected from the sizes. This... 

The 10l -acetoxy group can be red actively removed with zinc and acetic acid or chromous chloride to give I9-norsteroids in high yield. Thermal elimination (boiling tetralin) of acetic acid from the crude 10)5-acetoxy-A -3-ketone or treatment with methanolic alkali leads to aromatization of ring A. Estrone alkyl ethers are formed from 10)5-acetoxy-19-nor-A -androstene-3,17-dione by treatment with alcohols and perchloric acid. Similar aromatizations are observed with 5,10-oxido, 5,10-dihydroxy, 5,10-halohydrins or 5,10-dihalo-3-ketones. ... 

In the case of 1,3-diphenylisoindole (29), Diels-Alder addition with maleic anhydride is readily reversible, and the position of equilibrium is found to be markedly dependent on the solvent. In ether, for example, the expected adduet (117) is formed in 72% yield, whereas in aeetonitrile solution the adduet is almost completely dissociated to its components. Similarly, the addition product (118) of maleic anhydride and l,3-diphenyl-2-methjdi.soindole is found to be completely dissociated on warming in methanol. The Diels-Alder products (119 and 120) formed by the addition of dimethyl acetylene-dicarboxylate and benzyne respectively to 1,3-diphcnylisoindole, show no tendency to revert to starting materials. An attempt to extrude carbethoxynitrene by thermal and photochemical methods from (121), prepared from the adduct (120) by treatment with butyl-lithium followed by ethyl chloroform ate, was unsuccessful. 

In 1970, Hiraoka reported that 2-cyanopyrrole, irradiated in methanol with a low-pressure mercury arc for 20 h, gave a mixture of 3-cyanopyrrole and pyrrole-2-carbaldehyde [70JCS(CC)1306]. l-Methyl-2-cyanopyrrole (38) also gave this reaction (Scheme 15) [71JCS(CC)1610]. In this case, the author isolated the product of the isomerization 39, the product of the shift in C-2 of the IV-methy 1 group 40, and a third product that was assumed to be derived from the addition of methanol to the Dewar pyrrole 41. The reaction depends on the temperature used in fact, no reaction occurred when the reaction was performed at -68°C. This result is in agreement with the presence of a thermal-activated step [78JCS(CC)131]. More... 

A series of interesting pyrazolo[3,4-(f pyrimidine derivatives was obtained by a thermal denitrocyclization reaction of hydrazones, e.g. 164 or 166, easily formed from the corresponding aldehyde or ketone hydrazones with halo-nitrouracil derivatives, e.g. 163 (71CC1442, 72CC298). Intermediates 164 or 166 can be isolated and their cyclization in suitable solvents (methanol, DMF, DMSO) provided high yields of the products. Aldehyde hydrazones yielded the corresponding l,7-dihydropyrazolo[3,4-J]pyrimidines, e.g. 165, whereas ketone hydrazones gave l,5-dihydropyrazolo[3,4-pyrimidine derivatives, e.g. spirocyclic compound 167 (Scheme 26). 

In contrast with the AFC, the PAFC can demonstrate reliable operation with 40 percent to 50 percent system efficiency even when operating on low quality fuels, such as waste residues. This fuel flexibility is enabled by higher temperature operation (200°C vs. 100°C for the AFC) since this raises electro-catalyst tolerance toward impurities. Flowever, the PAFC is still too heavy and lacks the rapid start-up that is nec-essaiy for vehicle applications because it needs preheating to 100°C before it can draw a current. This is unfortunate because the PAFC s operating temperature would allow it to thermally integrate better with a methanol reformer. 

As mentioned in Chapter 2, methane is a one-carhon paraffinic hydrocarbon that is not very reactive under normal conditions. Only a few chemicals can he produced directly from methane under relatively severe conditions. Chlorination of methane is only possible by thermal or photochemical initiation. Methane can be partially oxidized with a limited amount of oxygen or in presence of steam to a synthesis gas mixture. Many chemicals can be produced from methane via the more reactive synthesis gas mixture. Synthesis gas is the precursor for two major chemicals, ammonia and methanol. Both compounds are the hosts for many important petrochemical products. Figure 5-1 shows the important chemicals based on methane, synthesis gas, methanol, and ammonia. ... 

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