Occidental Chemical Corporation

Stanley A Sojka

Wei-chi Ying

Henry C Lin

Neil J O'Reilly

Charles F Kulpa

Irving Gordon

Vernon J Lloyd

Milton P Gordon

Disclosed is a plant transformation construct comprising DNA having

Constructs encoding degradation enzymes for aromatic compounds and

2-Chlorobenzylamine is prepared from 2-chlorobenzylchloride in a two-step process. In the first step, 2-chlorobenzylchloride is reacted with alkali metal phthalimide, preferably formed in situ from potassium carbonate and phthalimide, to form the novel intermediate 2-chlorobenzylphthalimide. In the second step, the phthalimide ring of the 2-chlorobenzylphthalimide is cleaved to form 2-chlorobenzylamine. The first step is preferably carried out in an unreactive solvent at 60.degree. C. to reflux temperature, for example, for 1 to 10 hours. The solvent is very preferably dimethylformamide which is advantageously recovered and used again as solvent in the conversion of 2-chlorobenzylchloride to 2-chlorobenzylphthalimide. The second step consists essentially, for example, of hydrazinolysis or hydrolysis. When the second step consists essentially of hydrazinolysis, the 2-chlorobenzylphthalimide is reacted with hydrazine to form 2-chlorobenzylamine and phthalylhydrazide, and the 2-chlorobenzylamine is separated by reacting with acid to form soluble amine salt, filtering out the phthalylhydrazide and then reacting the amine salt with base to convert it to the free amine. When the second step consists essentially of hydrolysis, the hydrolysis can be carried out in one step with alkali metal hydroxide or inorganic acid or in two steps, for example, with hydrolysis with alkali metal hydroxide followed by hydrolysis with inorganic acid. The hydrolysis is suitably carried out at temperatures of 60.degree. C. to reflux temperature utilizing base and acid strengths ranging from 5% to saturated. Preferred hyrdolyzing agents are 40-60% aqueous KOH for one step base hydrolysis, 40-60% aqueous sulfuric acid for one step acid hydrolysis and 10-30% aqueous KOH followed by a mixture of water and concentrated HCl in a volume ratio ranging from 0.5:1 to 2:1 for the two-step base/acid hydrolysis. A second step consisting essentially of hydrolysis is preferred over a second step consisting essentially of hydrazinolysis not only for safety reasons but also because phthalic acid or a mixture of this with 2-chlorobeznylphthalamic acid can be recovered as by-product or by-product derivative which, contrary to the hydrazinolysis by product, phthalylhydrazide, are readily, respectively, converted to phthalimide and 2-chlorobenzylphthalimide by reaction with concentrated aqueous ammonium hydroxide. The phthalimide is useful in the in situ reaction in the first step to form 2-chlorobenzylphthal-imide. 2-Chlorobenzylphthalimide which is introduced with phthalimide into said first step becomes part of the product of the first step.

Preparing 2-chlorobenzylamine from 2-chlorobenzylchloride via

A facultatively anaerobic microorganism of a strain of Klebsiella oxytoca is disclosed for degrading toxic waste materials into more environmentally acceptable materials. Processes for utilizing the microorganism in a sequencing batch reactor, and for treating industrial and municipal wastes, such as chemical waste landfill leachate and chemical process wastewater, are also disclosed.

Facultatively anaerobic microorganism for degrading toxic waste materials

The invention relates to the treatment of chemical process wastewaters and chemical waste landfill leachates containing obnoxious and hazardous halogenated organic chemicals by the use of a combination of physical, chemical and biological processes to produce a liquid discharge acceptable to the environment in an efficient and economical manner.

Integrated biological-adsorption process for treating waste water

Combinations of physicochemical and biological treatment processes are capable of removing dioxins, polychlorobiphenyls (PCB's) and other halogenated organic compounds from wastewaters. The dioxins and PCB's are removed by at least 90 percent in the pretreatment steps of neutralization, oxidation, and sedimentation; the residual amounts are removed in a powdered activated carbon enhanced sequencing batch reactor (PAC-SBR) operating at a high mixed liquor suspended solids concentration (&gt;5000 mg/L). Powder activated carbon (PAC) is supplemented to the bioreactor to ensure complete removal of the dioxins (&lt;0.8 ppt) and PCB's (&lt;2 ppb). The PAC-SBR enhanced biological treatment process is capable of meeting stringent effluent limits on not only on dioxins and PCB's but also on other toxic halogenated organic compounds. The treatment cost of this process is substantially less than either the conventional granular activated carbon adsorption technology or two stage treatment of biodegradation and carbon absorption.

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Buffalo, NY, United States of America

Stanley A Sojka