Olin Corporation

Peter C Imm

Robert W Mason

Robert T Brooker

Paul J Craney

Kent J Bordelon

Thomas W Offill

Allan B Quakenbush

Described herein is a continuous process for preparing dinitrotoluene by reacting toluene with dilute nitric acid to produce mononitrotoluene, then reacting the mononitrotoluene with concentrated nitric acid to produce dinitrotoluene.

Process for preparing dinitrotoluene

The present invention relates to a process for purifying an aromatic nitration product mixture comprising a nitrated aromatic compound, water, and nitric or sulfuric acid which comprises without regard to sequence: (a) removing at least a portion of said water from said product mixture by contacting and reacting said water in said mixture with magnesium nitrate trihydrate to form magnesium nitrate pentahydrate or magnesium nitrate hexahydrate and removing said magnesium nitrate pentahydrate or magnesium nitrate hexahydrate from said nitrated aromatic compound in said product mixture, and (b) removing at least a portion of said acid from said product mixture by contacting and reacting said acid with an ionic or non-ionic absorbent to form a reacted absorbent and removing said reacted absorbent from said nitrated aromatic compound in said product mixture.

Process for purifying aromatic nitration products

This invention relates to a process for nitrating toluene to dinitrotoluene and phase separation of the product using an inorganic salt as a phase separation agent.

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Sulphur, LA, United States of America

Peter C Imm