Solvay Interox Gmbh

Interox Chemicals Limited

William R Sanderson

John P Sankey

Alexander Johnstone

Scott W Brown

Kenneth T Rowbottom

Craig W Jones

Miranda Service

John D Wharne

Robert C Wasson

Graham R Horne

Martin Jeff

Geoffrey J Hignett

Joseph William Malone

Paul Richard Harrison

Paul Brougham

Anita Jane Harvey

Anthony Hackett

Paul John Middleton

Angela M King

Timothy Pearce

Egg washing and disinfection process

Oxidative cleavage of alkenes with a catalyst system containing a source

Oxidation of ketones

Oxidation process

A one pot process for the perfluoroalkylation and/or perfluoroacyloxylation of organic substrates is provided. The process comprises contacting a substrate with a perfluoroalkanoic anhydride in the presence of an inorganic peroxygen compound at a temperature of greater than 10.degree. C. Substrates that can be perfluoroalkylated and/or perfluoroacyloxylated include alkylbenzenes, halogenated aromatic compounds, alkoxybenzenes, aryl benzenes, and aromatic and aliphatic disulphides. Preferably, the perfluoroalkanoic anhydride is trifluoroacetic anhydride and the inorganic peroxygen compound is sodium percarbonate.

Process for the introduction of fluoro substituents

Oxidation of alkylaromatics

Peroxycompounds

Liquid compositions containing a perborate bleaching system having improved chemical stability over existing systems are prepared by suspending a salt of a superperborate in a non-aqueous liquid. The superperborate salts have an available oxygen content of greater than 16.1%, and an empirical chemical formula of the type Na.sub.x B.sub.y O.sub.z.nH.sub.2 O where x is 1-4, y is 1-5, z is 2-15 and n is 1-5. The ratio of x:y is between 0.5 to 1.2:1. The compositions may include surfactants, activators and detergent auxiliaries. Preferred surfactants are nonionic surfactants. When a surfactant is present, the compositions are bleach containing liquid detergents. When surfactants are not present, the compositions can be used as bleach additives or non-detergent cleaners.

Liquid bleach and detergent compositions

Selective hydroxylation of phenol or phenolic ethers

Catalytic hydroxylation of phenol

Solutions of peracids

Phenol sulphonate esters can be made in a known process by reacting an alkali metal phenol sulphonate salt with an acyl halide in a hydrocarbon solvent at elevated temperatures, but the use of anhydrous materials were strongly advocated because any residual water hydrolyses the acyl chloride in a competitive reaction. However, it becomes particularly difficult and expensive to dehydrate phenol sulphonate salts below about 2% w/w water on a commercial scale and the product obtained by reaction from such partly dehydrated salts can be comparatively impure or reduced in yield. Consequently, changes to the process such as omitting the solvent or using a different acylating agent have been proposed, but these alternatives introduce their own respective manufacturing problems such as entrainment of viscous acyl chloride and anhydride in the product or introduction of a cumbersome and hence expensive recovery process involving an extra distillation step amongst others. The present invention provides a surprisingly convenient modification to the known process in which the esterification and product separation steps are incorporated into a cycle together with an acyl halide preparation step in which residual carboxylic acid and anhydride in solution after product separation is preferably augmented with a replenishing amount of carboxylic acid and then reacted with thiony halide. The resultant ester is readily separable and is obtained in comparatively good yield.

Ester manufacture

In general, inorganic or organic peroxyacids are unstable in the presence of a nonionic surfactant, so that it was not feasible to contemplate storing liquid compositions containing both components. It has now been discovered that storable compositions containing both components can be obtained by the use of particulate potassium-4-sulphoperoxybenzoic acid dispersed in the liquid nonionic surfactant containing phase. Additionally, the compositions can also include a dispersed particulate water-insoluble builder such as zeolite or water-soluble builder such as STPP. It is preferable to include a small amount of a chelating peroxidic stabilizer such as dipicolinic acid or 1,1,1-hydroxyethylidene diphosphonic acid.

Concentrated liquid compositions containing a peroxygen compound

Aqueous compositions containing an organic peroxyacid such as the mono-potassium salt of 4-sulpho-peroxybenzoic acid (KSPB) would be convenient to employ for bleaching/washing or disinfection especially of aqueous media, but suffer from loss of available oxygen (Avox) from the peracid during storage. The problem of storage instability can be alleviated to a considerable extent by employing the KSPB in particulate form and incorporating in the aqueous phase a water-soluble potassium salt of a non-reducing acid having a pK.sub.a of below 6, preferably a non-halide. It is desirable to use at least 1% and preferably at least 5% w/w solution of the potassium salt, of which suitable examples are potassium sulphate and nitrate. The pH of the aqueous phase is preferably brought to pH 2 to 3.

Aqueous dispersion of potassium salt of 4-sulpho-peroxybenzoic acid

Increased energy costs have stimulated a demand for peroxygen compounds that are effective at ambient to hand-hot temperatures, but peroxyacids and acyl peroxides tend to suffer from one or more of poor thermal stability, or sensitivity to impact or moisture, thereby rendering their manufacture or storage hazardous, or from poor solubility. The instant invention provides salts of the formula (in anhydrous form): ##STR1## in which M represents potassium and n=1 or M represents magnesium and n=2. The solids can be incorporated in low temperature bleaching compositions, in washing compositions, in sanitizing compositions or in disinfection/sterilisation compositions.

Peroxygen-compounds

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Warrington, United Kingdom

William R Sanderson