Sulfuric Acid → Di-tert-butyl peroxide

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Reaction Steps

In Unit 3, the dehydration stage, the mixture of tertiary butanol and tertiary butyl hydroperoxide is dehydrated with concentrated sulphuric acid to form di-tertiary butyl peroxide and water. The products of Unit 3, di-tertiary butyl peroxide and water, present as an aqueous solution of sulphuric acid, are immiscible and can conventiently be separated by decantation, the di-tertiary butyl peroxide layer being fed to Unit 4 for carbonylation and the aqueous layer containing sulphuric acid being fed to a concentrator Unit 6 prior to recycling to Unit 3. The dehydration step is typically carried out in the temperature range 20°-80° C. preferably 30°-60° C. and at a pressure of up to 150 psig. A typical dehydration process using sulphuric acid is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,862,973.

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