Ammoxidation

Late 1930, semi-technical facility for tests according to the Andrussow method in Herne , operated by Leonid Andrussow .

Diagram from 1931 with the Andrussow method

The ammoxidation is a chemical process by which from organic compounds with methyl groups by simultaneous reaction with ammonia and oxygen , the corresponding nitriles are prepared.

Process description

The ammoxidation is a gas phase reaction which is usually carried out at temperatures above 300  ° C. Metallic catalysts , for example platinum , are often required for this.

The general reaction equation is:

${\displaystyle \mathrm {R{-}CH_{3}\ +\ NH_{3}\ +\ 1{,}5\ O_{2}{\xrightarrow {\Delta T,Kat}}\ R{-}CN\ +\ 3\ H_{2}O} }$

Examples

Industrially significant ammoxidations are the Sohio process , which is used to produce acrylonitrile from propene , and the Andrussow process , with which hydrogen cyanide is obtained from methane . The production of phthalonitrile from o- xylene is also of industrial importance.

${\displaystyle \mathrm {CH_{4}\ +\ NH_{3}\ +\ 1{,}5\ O_{2}\longrightarrow \ H{-}CN\ +\ 3\ H_{2}O,\ \Delta _{R}\ =\ -469\ kJ/mol} }$

Andrussow method

${\displaystyle \mathrm {CH_{2}{=}CH{-}CH_{3}\ +\ NH_{3}\ +\ 1{,}5\ O_{2}\longrightarrow \ CH_{2}{=}CH{-}CN\ +\ 3\ H_{2}O,\ \Delta _{R}\ =\ -516\ kJ/mol} }$

Sohio process

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1. ↑ Entry on ammoxidation. In: Römpp Online . Georg Thieme Verlag, accessed on May 29, 2014.
2. ↑ Transfer of chemical processes from the laboratory to the production scale ( Memento from January 23, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Lecture Technical Chemistry, University of Frankfurt (PDF; 1.2 MB).
3. ^ Industrial Organic Chemistry, Klaus Weissermel , Hans-Jürgen Arpe , John Wiley & Sons, 3rd edition 1997 , ISBN 3-527-28838-4 .