Environmentally benign manufacturing of fine and intermediate chemicals

Environmental concerns and regulations are getting more and more severe. A lot of efforts and progress have been accomplished in the environmentally b enign and sustainable industrial manufacture of fine and intermediate chemi cals in recent years. Solid acid-base catalyzed commercialized processes as well as heterogeneously catalyzed oxidation processes and a dehydrogenatio n process are reviewed. The examples for acid catalyzed processes are the BASF-tert.-butylamine-pro cess and the Beckmann-rearrangment to form epsilon -caprolactam. For solid base catalyzed processes, the Sumitomo-process for the production of 5-ethy lidene-bicyclo [2.2.1] hepta-2-ene and other double bond isomerization proc esses have been chosen. In addition, short comments are given on side chain alkylation and transesterification reactions. Acid-base bifunctional heter ogeneous catalysts are employed for the hydrogenation of aromatic and aliph atic carboxlic acids to the corresponding aldehydes. In oxidation processes, the oxidation of an unsaturated alcohol to the corr esponding aldehyde will be demonstrated on the BASF-citral-process in which a silver catalyst is applied. For the oxidation of alkylaromatic compounds to the corresponding acids, the oxidation of beta -picoline to nicotic aci d in the presence of V2O5/TiO2-catalyst will be discussed. The oxidation of benzene to phenol using N2O as oxidant over a MFI-type zeolite is also des cribed. The dehydrogenation of alpha -limonene to p-cymene over Pd/SiO2 cat alyst is selected as an example for the environmentally benign use for a re newable feedstock. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.