Chemical/Consumer Grade H2O2

H2O2 is specially formulated to provide a higher stability product for chemical or consumer product applications.

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INTEROX® CG is available in different concentrations: 35%, 50%, 60% and 70%. This product range has a higher stability specification than the Standard grades, which is often required in the chemical industry and in consumer products where the H2O2 may be mixed or formulated with other compounds which may have a destabilising effect on H2O2.

Product and safety data sheets, specifications and advice regarding these products are available from Solvay.

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Chemical - Epoxidation & Halogenation

H202 and peracids will react with unsaturated compounds to produce epoxides. Epoxidation is an oxygen-transfer reaction, for which hydrogen peroxide and its derivatives are very well suited. This is reflected in the fact that a wide variety of peroxygen systems have been applied to a range of olefin types, and some of these applications are among the long established industrial uses of peroxygen products.

Epoxides are valuable and versatile commercial intermediates owing to the large range of reactions they undergo. The majority of transformations occur with active hydrogen compounds such as ammonia, amines, organic acids, alcohols and sulphur compounds.

'In-Situ' Percarboxylic Acids

The simplest and generally most economic way to carry out an epoxidation is to generate the peracid (performic acid or peracetic acid) in the reaction medium.

Epoxidation with 'in-situ' performic is an established commercial process. Major applications are the epoxidation of long chain olefins (usually of soya-bean oil). The resulting epoxides are relatively stable to ring opening. Vegetable oils, polybutadiene, natural and synthetic rubbers, and polyesters have been epoxidized by this procedure.

Cation exchange resins are also employed as catalysts for 'in-situ' peracetic acid (PAA) and reduce epoxide losses, particularly in the presence of hydrocarbons, or chlorinated solvents. This has been used to effect the epoxidation of soya-bean oil to a high grade epoxy soya-bean oil, and for polybutadiene epoxides.

Direct Methods

The only widely adopted direct method of epoxidizing olefins using H2O2 is under alkaline conditions. Alkaline H2O2 has the advantage of being cheap and convenient to operate. However, chemically its use is restricted to the epoxidation of olefins deactivated by electron withdrawing groups. Industrial processes must be designed with care as H2O2 rapidly decomposes at high pH and organic peroxides can be formed as by-products of the reaction.

Halogenation

Hydrogen peroxide will readily oxidise hydrogen halides and their acidified salts to liberate the corresponding halogen, with the exception of fluorine.

In-situ generation of halogens can be used for the preparation of a wide range of organic halides or for the recovery of bromine from hydrogen halide waste streams.

The system may be used for olefin halogenation, including epoxide preparation via halohydrins and aromatic halogenation including phenols and amines. Aromatic halogenation may require catalytic activation.

In the case of bromine, the system can be used for the oxidation of alcohols or aromatic side-chains.

Advantage of peroxygen systems

In-situ generation of halogens offers many advantages including:-

Efficient utilisation of the halogens (HX is continuously reoxidised by H2O2)
Effluent-free processes – water is the only downstream product
Elimination of halogen transport and associated handling problems

For a more detailed discussion on this application of peroxygen technology please contact us.

Typical products

INTEROX ST 35
INTEROX ST 50
INTEROX ST 60
INTEROX ST 70
INTEROX CG 35
INTEROX CG 50
INTEROX CG 60
INTEROX CG 70

Chemical - Hydroxylation & Oxidation

Hydroxylation of olefins

The hydroxylation of olefins is the addition of hydrogen peroxide across a double bond, to produce a diol. H202 is a powerful hydroxylation agent applied for olefins and aromatic nuclei. Where the epoxide is formed as an intermediate, the diol product is usually trans- with respect to the olefin.

Long-chain aliphatic vic-diols and their derivatives have properties which make them useful as modifiers in protective coatings, plastics, lubricants, waxes, emulsifiers, and textile finishing agents.

Many conversions take place with high yield and high purity under relatively mild conditions. The conditions used for hydroxylation are generally more vigorous than for the intermediate epoxidation reaction.

Hydroxylation using hydrogen peroxide is applicable to all olefins including those with electron withdrawing groups attached.

Transformations can yield either the anti- or the syn- product. They can be carried out in either alkaline or acidic media.

Hydroxylation of the aromatic nucleus

Hydroxylation of the aromatic nucleus is also possible and is used on an industrial scale to produce hydroquinone and catechol.

Advantages of peroxygen systems

Percarboxylic acids are highly reactive and easy to use. They may be used in-situ, preformed as an equilibrium product, as a distilled acid or aqueous solution, in an organic solvent or in solid form.
Metal catalysed hydroxylations reduce the effluent loading of these systems compared to stoichiometric metal oxidant systems.
Alkaline peroxide is relatively inexpensive, convenient to use and can be applied in the hydroxylation of a variety of electron deficient olefins.

Oxidation

Over the past few years the importance of hydrogen peroxide and its derivatives as oxidising agents has grown considerably. In contrast to many other oxidising agents, hydrogen peroxide is attractive from an environmental viewpoint as it forms only water when its oxidising power is spent. Similarly, peroxyacids form organic acids which can often be recovered or recycled.

The advantages of hydrogen peroxide and its derivatives include:-

Solubility – Hydrogen peroxide and its derivatives can be soluble in water, many organic solvents and the substrates themselves.

Availability – Various grades of hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid are now produced worldwide.

Mildness – Useful for sensitive materials as oxidations generally proceed under relatively mild conditions. Reactions are often specific and generally only a small excess of hydrogen peroxide or derivative is required.

Stability – Hydrogen peroxide loses less than 1% active oxygen content by weight per year under standard storage conditions.

Oxidation by hydrogen peroxide can be achieved under neutral, acid or alkaline conditions, as well as in the presence of catalysts. In some applications however, the oxidising power of hydrogen peroxide is insufficient and a more active oxidant such as a peroxyacid is required. These systems are widely used. Other systems include the use of hydrogen peroxide with haloacids and sodium perborate with acetic acid to generate oxidants in-situ.

The following list gives examples of applications of H202 for oxidations : alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, aromatic side-chains, aromatic nuclei, organic compounds containing nitrogen (amines) or sulphur and hydrogen halides.

For a more detailed discussion on this application of peroxygen technology please contact us

Typical products

INTEROX ST 35
INTEROX ST 50
INTEROX ST 60
INTEROX ST 70
INTEROX CG 35
INTEROX CG 50
INTEROX CG 60
INTEROX CG 70

Chemical Purification & Lactone formation

The area of Chemical Purification is a diverse one with regard to both the chemicals treated and the reagents used. The reasons for purification may also be quite varied and naturally depend on the manufacturing process, grade, application etc. Improvements may consist in the removal of colour, odour, minor chemical contaminants or any combination of these.

Although adsorptive materials such as activated carbon, clays, and zeolites, have been used for a number of years, their disposal or regeneration can be expensive.

Hydrogen peroxide is one of the most widely used oxidizing agents. It can be added either directly (under acidic, neutral, or alkaline conditions), in the presence of a solvent or catalyst, or in the presence of other purification agents.

In general the types of products purified in this way fall into one of eight broad cataogories as listed below:-

Product type

1 Petroleum Products
2 Surfactants
3 Natural Oils, Fats, Waxes
4 Natural Sugars and Related Products
5 Miscellaneous Organics
6 Synthetic Polymers
7 Inorganic Salts and Acids
8 Clays, Talcs & Minerals

Advantages of peroxygens

Peroxygen purification methods are fast, simple, and occur under mild conditions.
Hydrogen peroxide forms only water and oxygen when its oxidising power is spent.
Improvements can be seen in colour and odour.

Lactone formation

Ketones can be oxidised to esters by percarboxylic acids or in some cases by H202. Cyclic ketones form lactones of which the manufacture of ε - caprolactone from cyclohexanone is one example.

For a more detailed discussion on this application of peroxygen technology please contact us