Nitric Acid → 4-Nitrotoluene

Participants

Reaction Steps

Nitroaromatics, particularly dinitrotoluene, are widely used as intermediates in the manufacture of aromatic amines, e.g. toluene diamine which then can be converted to isocyanates for polyurethane manufacture. Commercially, dinitrotoluene, for example, is produced by the mixed acid nitration of toluene, the mixed acid being a mixture of concentrated sulfuric acid and nitric acid. In this process mononitrotoluene is formed in a first nitration stage and then separated from the aqueous phase. The crude mononitrotoluene is then dinitrated with fresh acid in a second nitration stage and the aqeuous phase is recycled to the mononitration stage. The dinitrotoluene then is recovered from the dinitration stage and the impurities removed.

Provenance & Evidence