Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
BENZENE DERIVATIVES
C
YCLOHEXANE
Uses
Over 90% of all the cyclohexane made is used to make nylon
intermediates.
O
OH
catalyst
nitric aci
d
+
O
2
(from air)
+
HOOC
CH
2
CH
2
CH
2
CH
2
COOH
cyclohexanone
cyclohexanol
adipic acid
O
NH
hydroxylamine
rearrangement
caprolactam
Manufacture
catalyst
+
H
2
Suppliers
Huntsman.
The price of
cyclohexane
tracks that of benzene and is only marginally higher
because the conversion of benzene to cyclohexane is readily accomplished
in very high yield.
The subsequent reaction of cyclohexane with air in the first step to adipic
acid is not simple and, actually, is not well understood chemically. Only a
small amount of cyclohexane present in the operation is allowed to react
before the unreacted cyclohexane is recovered for recycle and the oxygen-
containing products isolated for further reaction with nitric acid. Despite
decades of research on this chemistry in efforts to increase yields and
decrease by-product formation, substantial amounts of the starting cyclohex-
