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 N aqueous solution of NaOH, and 120 L of tert-butanol were mixed and reacted 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 with the whole amount of the aqueous silver nitrate solution at constant flow rates over the periods of 93 minutes and 90 minutes, respectively. In this procedure, the solutions were added in such a manner that only the aqueous silver nitrate solution was added for 11 minutes after starting the addition of the aqueous silver nitrate solution, and for 14 minutes 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 to adjust the temperature in the reaction vessel to 30° C. and keep the liquid temperature constant. The piping of the addition system for the sodium behenate solution was temperature-controlled by a double pipe, and cooled water was circulated in a jacket at the outer part of the double pipe to adjust the liquid temperature at the outlet orifice of the addition nozzle to 10° C. The addition position of the sodium behenate solution and the addition position of the aqueous silver nitrate solution were arranged symmetrically relative to the stirring axis as the center, and the positions are controlled at heights not to contact with the reaction mixture.

Provenance & Evidence