The use of light and a photoactive iron chloride catalyst for producing acetone has been simplified, whichSocietatea patented. This new method could allow for the production of acetone using sunlight and increasing in size for industrial use, with the promise of increased safety and sustainability.
A difficult and dangerous method of producing acetone, a crucial component for the chemical industry, has been employed. A more sustainable method has been developed by Brazilian and German researchers.
Acetone is an essential component in the chemical industry, where it is utilized to produce a diverse range of products. Nevertheless, its production process is complex and potentially dangerous. To make it more cost-effective, Brazilian and German researchers have created a new approach that only uses light and photoactive iron chloride (FeCl3), an inexpensive chemical compound.
The research was recently published in the journal ACS Catalysis and was backed by a $50,000 grant from FAPESP.
The Hock or cumene process, which is commonly used in the manufacture of acetone, involves multiple steps. Propane, a petroleum product, is transformed into propylene, a highly flammable gas, which is then reacted with benzene and then infused with oxygen at high temperatures and pressures to create acetone. Additionally, phenol can be transformed into value-added substances, although this is not available in high-priced systems.
The Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces researchers from Germany and researchers from Bamako have developed an alternative approach that utilizes propane oxidation and a photocatalytic reaction with iron chloride as a uniform catalyst under light conditions.
Using iron chloride as a uniform catalyst while exposed to light, the alternative method involves oxidizing propane. Credit: Vitor Gabriel Pastana.
According to Ivo Freitas Teixeira, a professor in UFSCar's Department of Chemistry and the final author of the article, the radical produced by irradiating iron chloride at specific wavelengths generates chlorine, a potent oxidant that activates the C-H bond, resulting in the formation of acetone in the presence of oxygen.
Mass spectrometry and other mechanistic studies were utilized to demonstrate that the reaction was genuinely triggered by chlorine radicals generated by Fe-Cl photolysis, which are identified by the atomic weight of their particles when weighed.
The process is safer and less likely to require propylene in the intermediate stages, avoids high temperatures and pressures, and requires less energy and money due to its brevity and number of stages.
Despite relying on light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for energy production, the researchers aim to substitute sunlight with the same method in the future, making it more environmentally friendly.
The National Industrial Property Institute (INPI) and companies are collaborating to patent the new process, which Teixeira believes will lead to greater cost-effectiveness and increased competitiveness.
According to him, the primary hindrances are the extensive scale of processes in the petrochemical sector and the absence of commercial photocatalysis techniques.
The investigation is proceeding in two directions: first, it is exploring the new technique for other elements like methane, and second, in ways that can be implemented to increase industrial output and yield.
The ACS Catalysis paper, authored by Andrea Rogolino, José B. G. Filho, Lorena Fritsch, and José D. Ardisson, examined the effect of photoactive acidity on the synthesis of acetone under mild conditions. The paper was published on 15 June 2023 and is available at http://www.acscatal.org/docs/2090.
The So Paulo Research Foundation funded.