Novel continuous catalytic hydrogenation process for the synthesis of diacetone-d-allose

Publication date: Available online 17 October 2016 Source:Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification Author(s): Anne Müller, Jana Kanz, Stefan Haase, Karin Becker, Hans-Matthias Vorbrodt Diacetone-d-allose is an important building block for the synthesis of pharmaceutical ingredients. The current batch production process involves a chemical oxidation and a reduction step that include hazardous reagents, produce a large amount of waste and require an extensive downstream processing. Current investigations aim to develop a catalytic reduction process of the intermediate diacetone-d-ketoglucose (DAKG) with molecular hydrogen, a green solvent, and a heterogeneous metal catalyst. Improvement of productivity and simultaneous reduction of the environmental impact shall be achieved by transforming the conventional batch procedure into a continuous process with a stationary catalyst packing. The screening studies presented in this work revealed that high reaction rates and a high selectivity (>98%) can be achieved with a commercial platinum catalyst under mild conditions in an aqueous buffer solution. Transition from batch into a continuous process was realized in several mini-scale fixed bed reactors to provide a fast screening and high mass transfer rates. A high selectivity (99%) and a conversion of 30% was achieved. The results indicate that the reactor performance was influenced by internal diffusion limitations and also by external mass transfer....

Source: Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification - October 28, 2016 Category: Chemistry Source Type: research