Hydrogen peroxide and applications in green hydrocarbon nitridation and oxidation

Basic organic chemicals and high value–added products are mainly produced by hydrocarbon nitridation and oxidation. However, several drawbacks limit the application of the traditional oxidation and nitridation technologies in the future, such as complex processes, poor intrinsic safety, low atom utilization, and serious environmental pollution. The green nitridation and oxidation technologies are urgently needed. Hydrogen peroxide, a well–known green oxidant, is widely used in green hydrocarbon oxidation and nitridation. But its industrial production in China adopts fixed–bed technology, which is fall behind slurry–bed technology adopted by advanced foreign chemical companies, limiting the development of hydrogen peroxide industry and green hydrocarbon nitridation or oxidation industry. This article reviews the industrial production technologies of hydrogen peroxide and basic organic chemicals such as caprolactam, aniline, propene oxide, epichlorohydrin, phenol, and benzenediol, especially introduces the green production technologies of basic organic chemicals related with H 2 O 2 . The article also emphasis on the efforts of Chinese researchers in developing its own slurry–bed technology of hydrogen peroxide production, and corresponding green hydrocarbon nitridation or oxidation technologies with hydrogen peroxide. Compared with traditional nitridation or oxidation technologies, green production technologies of caprolactam, propene oxide, epichlorohydrin, and benzenediol with hydrogen peroxide promote the nitrogen atom utilization from 60% to near 100% and the carbon atom utilization from 80% to near 100%. The waste emissions and environmental investments are reduced dramatically. Technological blockade against the green chemical industry of China are partially broken down, and technological upgrade in the chemical industry of China is guaranteed.