Abstract:
Epichlorohydrin is an important petrochemical which is a base material in the
manufacture of epoxy resins. Epoxy resins have become firmly well established in
countless applications and techniques. Currently, epichlorohydrin is produced by
chlorohydrination of allyl chloride, derived by chlorination of propylene but the yield
is limited to 60-65%. The process also releases chlorine causing air pollution problems
in the area.
This paper presents another alternative method of production of epichlorohydrin from
allyl chloride using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant and sodium tungstate or sodium
molybdate as catalysts. This process will be environmentally safer and a cleaner
process. The kinetics and mechanism of this process have been studied. The reaction
is first order with respect to allyl chloride and catalyst (sodium tungstate or sodium
molybdate) but zero order with respect to hydrogen peroxide. The energy of activation
has been determined. A reaction mechanism has also been proposed.
