Catalytic Synthesis of Methacrylates over Silica Supported Niobium Catalysts

摘要

The most widely practiced commercial technology for the synthesis of methacrylic acid (MAA) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) is the acetone cyanohydrin (ACH) process. The ACH process requires handling of large quantities of extremely toxic and hazardous hydrogen cyanide and generates copious amounts of ammonium sulfate wastes that are either discarded or reclaimed at substantial cost. The ACH technology is currently environmentally and economically untenable for any new expansions, primarily because of the cost of either disposing or regenerating the ammonium bisulfate waste.