Purificn. of phenol made by oxidn. of alkylbenzene cpd. - by treatment with silica-alumina catalyst and distn.

摘要

Purificn. of a phenol (I) made by oxidn. of an alkylbenzene cpd. to a benzenemonocarboxylic acid, followed by decarboxylative oxidn. of the acid or a salt, ester or anhydride of this, to form the (I) is described. The purificn. stage comprises treating (I) with a silica-alumina catalyst and distilling off the (I). The process is esp. useful for purifying phenol made by oxidn. of toluene, ethylbenzene, etc. followed by oxidative decarboxylation of the resulting benzoic acid. The purifcn. stage gives a phenol prod. with a much reduced benzaldehyde content. Relatively simple appts. is used and expensive corrosion-resistant materials need not be used.