Nitric Acid → 4-Nitrotoluene

Participants

Reaction Steps

Commercially, nitroaromatics, and particularly dinitrotoluene, are produced by the mixed acid nitration of toluene, the mixed acid being a mixture of concentrated sulfuric and concentrated nitric acid. In the production of dinitrotoluene process, for example, toluene is first nitrated to form mononitrotoluene and then separated from the spent acid aqueous phase. The crude mononitrotoluene is then dinitrated with fresh acid in a second nitration stage. As is known the dinitrotoluene product recovered from the dinitration reactor contains impurities, primarily nitrophenolics, such as nitrocresol and picric acid.

Provenance & Evidence