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Phenols

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Phenolic Resins: A Century of Progress

Abstract

Up to the end of the nineteenth century, phenol was recovered primarily from coal tar. With the commercialization of the phenolic resins, the demand for phenol grew significantly. Currently, the cumene-to-phenol process is the predominant synthetic route for the production of phenol. It is accompanied by acetone as a co-product. Cumene is oxidized with oxygen to form cumene hydroperoxide. The peroxide is subsequently decomposed to phenol and acetone, using a strong mineral acid as catalyst. The products are purified in a series of distillation columns. The cumene-to-phenol process is described in more detail in this chapter. An overview is given about synthetic routes via direct oxidation of benzene. None of these alternative routes has been commercialized. The chapter also gives an overview of global supply and use of phenol in 2008. Finally, the main natural sources and synthetic routes for cresols, xylenols, resorcinol, and bisphenol-A are described. These components are used as comonomers for special phenolic resins.

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Abbreviations

ACP:

Acetophenone

AMS:

α-Methylstyrene

BP:

Boiling point

BPA:

Bisphenol-A

BWWT:

Biological Waste Water Treatment

CHP:

Cumene hydroperoxide

DAA:

Diactone alcohol

DCP:

Dicumyl peroxide

DiPB:

Diisopropylbenzene

DMBA:

Dimethyl benzyl alcohol

H2 :

Hydrogen

H2O:

Water

H2O2 :

Hydrogen peroxide

MOX:

Mesityloxide

MAK:

Maximale Arbeitsplatzkonzentration

MHP:

Methyl hydroperoxide

MP:

Melting point

MW:

Molecular weight

NaOH:

Caustic soda

NaPh:

Sodium phenate

NH3 :

Ammonia

NO x :

Nitrogen oxides

N2O:

Nitrous oxide

PEL:

Permissible exposure limit

SADT:

Self-Accelerating-Decomposition-Temperature

TriPB:

Triisopropylbenzene

TWA:

Time weighted averages (over 8 h)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INEOS Phenol GmbH, Dechenstrasse 3, 45966, Gladbeck, Germany

    Manfred Weber & Markus Weber

Authors
  1. Manfred Weber
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  2. Markus Weber
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manfred Weber .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pilato Consulting, Watchung Road 598, Bound Brook, 08805, USA

    Louis Pilato

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Weber, M., Weber, M. (2010). Phenols. In: Pilato, L. (eds) Phenolic Resins: A Century of Progress. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04714-5_2

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