Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc.

Nobuyuki Tokura

Yoshihiro Shiokawa

Shunichi Matsumoto

Tadayoshi Takefumi

Ichiyo Ohtsuka

Tatsuhiko Yanagawa

A process for producing an aromatic acylation product from an aromatic compound, an olefin and carbon monoxide, which comprises the steps of:

Process for producing aromatic acylation product

A process for manufacturing high-purity o-toluic acid from a partial oxidation product of o-xylene is disclosed. o-Toluic acid is widely used as a raw material for agricultural chemicals, medicines, polymerization initiators, and the like. Depending on its use, 99% by weight or more purity is demanded for o-toluic acid. Hitherto, o-toluic acid having purity of higher than 99% by weight could not be obtained by fractionation, and purification by fractional crystallization was used. Fractional crystallization is, however, and expensive operation and not only gives a low yield of product but also results a large amount of waste water. The process disclosed herein gives an economical, commercial way to obtain high purity o-toluic acid. In summary, a process for the manufacture of high purity o-toluic acid which comprises: subjecting an oxidation product of o-xylene to distillation to remove therefrom low boiling point components such as unreacted o-xylene and benzoic acid, and high boiling point components, of which the major component is o-methylbenzyl o-toluate, thus obtaining crude o-toluic acid, treating said crude o-toluic acid with ammonia of an amount 1 to 1.2 mol equivalent of o-phthalic acid contained in said crude o-toluic acid, and subjecting the product thus treated to distillation is disclosed.

Process for manufacturing high-purity o-toluic acid

The present invention relates to a process for decomposing an aromatic acylated compound.HF-BF.sub.3 complex in preparing an aromatic acylated compound by decomposing an aromatic acylated compound.HF-BF.sub.3 complex obtained by reacting an aromatic compound with an acylating agent in the presence of HF-BF.sub.3 as a catalyst, which comprises subjecting the aromatic acylated compound.HF-BF.sub.3 complex to thermal decomposition in the presence of at least one aromatic hydrocarbon (A.H.) selected from benzene, toluene and chlorobenzene and at least one saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon (S.H.) selected from pentane, hexane and cyclohexane, as a decomposing agent.

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Kurashiki, Japan

Nobuyuki Tokura