Paraffin oxidation is a historical industrial process for the production of synthetic fatty acids.C. H. Gill, Ed. Meusel: ''XLI. On paraffin and the products of its oxidation.'' In: ''Journal of the Chemical Society.'' 21, 1868, p. 466, . The fatty acids are further processed to consumer products such as soaps and fats as well as to lubricating greases for technical applications. Coal slack wax, a saturated, high molecular weight hydrocarbon mixture and by-product of the Fischer–Tropsch process was used as raw material. Side products were a wide range of carboxylic acids and oxidation products such as

alcohols In chemistry, an alcohol is a type of organic compound that carries at least one hydroxyl () functional group bound to a saturated carbon atom. The term ''alcohol'' originally referred to the primary alcohol ethanol (ethyl alcohol), which is ...

, aldehydes, esters, or

ketones In organic chemistry, a ketone is a functional group with the structure R–C(=O)–R', where R and R' can be a variety of carbon-containing substituents. Ketones contain a carbonyl group –C(=O)– (which contains a carbon-oxygen double bon ...

. The oxidation of paraffins was carried out in the liquid phase by molecular oxygen, e.g. by

aerating Aeration (also called aerification or aeriation) is the Systems engineering process, process by which air is circulated through, mixed with or solvation, dissolved in a liquid or other substances that act as a fluid (such as soil). Aeration proces ...

with oxygen or atmospheric air, in the presence of catalysts such as permanganates, e.g. 0.1% - 0.3% potassium permanganate, at temperatures in the range of about 100 to 120 °C and under atmospheric pressure.Eugen Schaal, Patent US 335962 A, ''Converting Petroleum and similar Hydrocarbons into Acids'', 9. February 1886.

History

The process was commercially important from the mid-1930s on and was carried out until the first years after the Second World War on a large industrial scale. Paraffin oxidation enabled for first time the large-scale production of synthetic butter from coal by chemical means which was at that time seen as a sensation.Arthur Imhausen: ''Die Fettsäure-Synthese und ihre Bedeutung für die Sicherung der deutschen Fettversorgung.'' In: ''Kolloid-Zeitschrift.'' 103, 1943, p. 105–108, . Because of the high availability of inexpensive natural fats and the competition by petroleum-based fatty alcohols, the process lost its importance in the early 1950s.

Process

The process consisted of three main steps: oxidation, reconditioning of the oxidation mixture to crude fatty acids and eventually their separation by

fractional distillation Fractional distillation is the separation of a mixture into its component parts, or fractions. Chemical compounds are separated by heating them to a temperature at which one or more fractions of the mixture will vaporize. It uses distillation to ...

into fatty acid fractions.G. Wietzel: ''Herstellung synthetischer Fettsäuren durch Oxydation von paraffinischen Kohlenwasserstoffen mit molekularem Sauerstoff.'' In: ''Chemical Engineering Science.'' 3, 1954, p. 17–IN4, . The chemical industry processed the fatty acid fractions further into finished products such as soaps, detergents, plasticizers and synthetic fat. The paraffin oxidation was almost exclusively run in a discontinuous batch mode. Fractions were selected based on the intended purposes of each of the desired products: * -: Acids used for industrial purposes, recovered from the vapors given off during the oxidation process * -: Reduced to alcohols * -: Froth flotation * -: Reacted with glycerol to produce edible fats such as synthetic

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was orig ...

* -: Soap * -: Metallic soap, lithium soap, etc.

Mechanism

The first explanation for oxidation mechanism was given by the ''peroxide theory'', developed by Alexei Nikolaevich Bach and Carl Engler, also known as the Engler-Bach theory. According to their theory, as the first step a secondary hydroperoxide is formed. The assumption that this hydroperoxide is then radically decomposed was confirmed by later studies by Eric Rideal. * R-H + O₂ → ROOH The function of metal catalyst is to increase the speed of both the formation and decomposition of the hydroperoxide. This produces, among other things, an alkyl radical, which forms with oxygen peroxo radikals. This forms by abstraction of a hydrogen atom from another molecule paraffin a new alkyl radical and a hydroperoxide. The mechanism of the reaction follows the following scheme: F. Asinger: ''Paraffins. Chemistry and Technology''. Elsevier, 1968, , p. 617 As a first step the formation of a hydroperoxide occurs, which degrades as the main reaction into water and a

ketone In organic chemistry, a ketone is a functional group with the structure R–C(=O)–R', where R and R' can be a variety of carbon-containing substituents. Ketones contain a carbonyl group –C(=O)– (which contains a carbon-oxygen double bo ...

. As a side reaction secondary alcohols are formed according to the following reaction: :

References

{{reflist Chemical processes