Acetate → Acetic Anhydride

Participants

Reaction Steps

The reaction of the by-product acetyl fluoride with metal acetate such as potassium acetate is carried out under suitable reaction conditions of time, temperature and pressure which are sufficient to produce a metal fluoride such as potassium fluoride and acetic anhydride. Preferably, a pressure is maintained which is sufficient to maintain the acetyl fluoride essentially in the liquid phase at a temperature in a broad range of 20° to 200° C and more preferably in a temperature range of 80° to 150° C. The time required for the reaction is approximately 10 minutes to 24 hours and, more preferably, in a range of 1 to 8 hours. The produced potassium acetate and acetic anhydride are suitably separated such as by flash distilling, recovering the acetic anhydride as an overhead product which can be recycled for equilibration with additional hexafluoroacetone-HF complex. The remaining potassium fluoride which is produced in this reaction is transferred to a suitable reactor for contacting with acetic acid.

Provenance & Evidence