Nitric Acid → Glyoxylic Acid

Participants

Reaction Steps

If nitric acid is added sequentially to an aqueous solution of glyoxal so that the nonoxidizing strong acid is kept at a concentration of 6 wt. % or higher in the reaction mixture, the reaction can proceed in a state wherein nitric acid is not present in the reaction solution in a concentration exceeding 1 wt. %, and an aqueous solution of glyoxylic acid having a final residual nitric acid concentration of 0.1 wt. % or below can be easily obtained. Thus, it is possible to omit the step of removing residual nitric acid, which step is conventionally required, and to use the aqueous solution of glyoxylic acid obtained by the process of the invention directly in further synthesis reactions.

Provenance & Evidence