Water → Sodium Behenate

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

87.6 kg of behenic acid (Edenor C22-85R, trade name, manufactured by Henkel Co.), 423 L of distilled water, 49.2 L of a 5 mol/L aqueous solution of NaOH, and 120 L of tert-butanol were mixed and allowed to react with stirring at 75° C. for one hour to obtain a solution of sodium behenate. Separately, 206.2 L of an aqueous solution containing 40.4 kg of silver nitrate (pH 4.0) was prepared and kept at 10° C. A mixture of 635 L of distilled water and 30 L of tert-butanol contained in a reaction vessel kept at 30° C. was added with the whole amount of the aforementioned sodium behenate solution and the whole amount of the aqueous silver nitrate solution at constant flow rates over the periods of 62 minutes and 10 seconds, and 60 minutes, respectively. In this case, they were added in such a manner that only the aqueous silver nitrate solution was added for 7 minutes and 20 seconds after starting the addition of the aqueous silver nitrate solution, and for 9 minutes and 30 seconds after finishing the addition of the aqueous silver nitrate solution, only the sodium behenate solution was added. In this operation, the outside temperature was controlled so that the temperature in the reaction vessel should be 30° C. and the liquid temperature should be constant. The piping of the addition system for the sodium behenate solution was warmed by steam trace and the steam opening was controlled such that the liquid temperature at the outlet orifice of the addition nozzle should be 75° C. The piping of the addition system for the aqueous silver nitrate solution was maintained by circulating cold water outside a double pipe. The addition position of the sodium behenate solution and the addition position of the aqueous silver nitrate solution were arranged symmetrically with respect to the stirring axis as the center, and the positions are controlled at heights for not contacting with the reaction mixture.

Provenance & Evidence