Mitsui Petrochemical Industries, Ltd.

Ichiro Imai

Hiroaki Nakagawa

Isao Hashimoto

Fujihisa Matsunaga

Hirohiko Nambu

Masayasu Isibasi

Tohru Taguchi

Keiji Suzuki

In a process for producing resorcinol, which comprises cleaving m-diisopropylbenzene dihydroperoxide in the presence of a water-soluble acid catalyst in a mixed solvent consisting of an aromatic hydrocarbon and acetone, treating the resulting acid cleavage product containing resorcinol with an aqueous solution of a neutral salt under acidic conditions, separating the solvent layer containing resorcinol from the aqueous layer, and recovering resorcinol from the separated solvent layer; the improvement wherein (i) the acid cleavage is carried out while maintaining the weight ratio of the aromatic hydrocarbon to acetone at less than 0.6, and at a time after formation of the acid cleavage product but before the treatment of the cleavage product with the aqueous solution of the neutral salt, the amount of the aromatic hydrocarbon in the mixed solvent is adjusted so that the weight ratio of the aromatic hydrocarbon to acetone in the product is from 0.6 to 1.1, and (ii) the acidic conditions are selected such that the pH of the solvent layer containing resorcinol is 2.5 to 4.

Process for producing resorcinol

An improved process for the preparation of an aromatic hydroperoxide by oxidizing a hydroxyalkyl-substituted aromatic compound having at least one hydroxyalkyl group directly bonded to an aromatic ring carbon of the aromatic compound and being represented by the formula ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 each are a lower alkyl group, with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of an acid catalyst in a heterogeneous system of a water-immiscible inert aromatic hydrocarbon solvent at a reaction temperature of up to about 70.degree. C. while removing by-product water as an azeotrope with the aromatic hydrocarbon solvent in the oxidation system; characterized in that said oxidation is carried out while feeding a vapor of a water-immiscible inert aromatic hydrocarbon solvent having a temperature higher than the reaction temperature but not exceeding about 90.degree. C. into a liquid phase of the oxidation system.

Process for preparation of aromatic hydroperoxides

A process for producing m-diisopropylbenzene dihydroperoxide which comprises oxidizing m-diisopropylbenzene in the liquid phase with molecular oxygen under alkaline conditions; wherein the oxidation is carried out under conditions (A), (B) and (C) below,

Process for liquid-phase oxidation of m-diisopropylbenzene

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Ohtake, Japan

Ichiro Imai