Production
Acrylic acid is produced from propene which is a byproduct of ethylene and gasoline production.
- CH2=CHCH3 + 1.5 O2 → CH2=CHCO2H + H2O
Because acrylic acid and its esters have long been valued commercially, many other methods have been developed but most have been abandoned for economic or environmental reasons. An early method was the hydrocarboxylation of acetylene ("Reppe chemistry"):
- HCCH + CO + H2O → CH2=CHCO2H
This method requires nickel carbonyl and high pressures of carbon monoxide. It was once manufactured by the hydrolysis of acylonitrile which is derived from propene by ammoxidation, but was abandoned because the method cogenerates ammonium derivatives. Other now abandoned precursors to acrylic acid include ethenone and ethylene cyanohydrin.
Dow Chemical Company and a partner, OPX Biotechnologies, are investigating using fermented sugar to produce 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3HP), an acrylic acid precursor. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Read more about this topic: Acrylic Acid
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