1. Industrial production of chemical solvents
“Acetone”
LincolnUniversityCollege
Faculty of science
Department of Biotechnology
Presented by
Essam Yahya

2. Solvents
 Solvent is a substance that dissolves a solute (a chemically distinct liquid,
solid or gas), resulting in a solution.
A substance, usually a liquid, in which a solute dissolves to form a solution.
 Common solvents
* Ethanol
* Acetone
* Butyl alcohol
* Glycerol etc..

3. Types of chemical solvents
 Solvents can be classed as organic or inorganic materials.
 Water, the simplest and most abundant solvent on earth is classed as an
inorganic solvent as its chemical structure does not contain carbon.
 Organic solvents (containing carbon) are classified by their chemical structure,
of which there are three main types;
 Hydrocarbon solvents (aliphatic and aromatic).
 Oxygenated solvents (alcohols, ketones, aldehydes,
glycol ethers, esters, glycol ether esters).
 Halogenated solvents (chlorinated and brominated
hydrocarbons).

4. Common Uses of Solvents in Our Life
• Dry cleaning (tetrachloro-ethylene).
• Paint thinner (toluene, turpentine).
• Nail polish removers & glue solvents (acetone, ethyl
acetate, methyl acetate).
• Spot removers(hexane, petrol ether).
• Detergents( citrus terpenes).
• Perfumes (ethanol).
• Chemical synthesis.

5. Acetone
 Acetone (IUPAC name Propan-2-one).
 Is the organic compound with the formula (CH3)2CO.
Acetone is the Simplest Ketone.
Acetone serves as an important solvent in the lab as well
as in the industry.
• Acetone is miscible with water, and serves as a cleaning
agent as it is able to dissolve almost all the compounds. Acetone

6. There is many uses for Acetone in
the embalming room
Remove:
Glue, tar, nail
polish, paint
Clean
equipment
It used in
embalming
fluids as a
vehicle

7. Industrial Production of Acetone
 Historical background:-
 Industrial exploitation of ABE (Acetone–Butanol-Ethanol)
fermentation.
 started in 1916, during World War I, with Chaim
Weizmann's isolation of Clostridium acetobutylicum.
 Thus the first lab production of acetone dates back to
1916.
 Also Acetone was the reason that the Germans lost the
World War 1.

8. Industrial production methods
• Acetone is produced using different methods:-
1. Cumene Process.
2. From Alkane nitriles.
3. Hydrolysis of Gem-Dihalides.
4. Oxidation of isopropyl alcohol.
5. Ozonolysis of alkenes.
6. Fermentation process.

9. 1) CUMENE PROCESS
• The air oxidation of cumene (isopropyl benzene) leads to the
production of both phenol and acetone, as shown in the following
figure.
• At the end of reaction we get Acetone as well as Phenol both of which
are desirable.

10. 2) FROM ALKANENITRILES
Reaction of Grignard reagent with alkane nitriles
followed by hydrolysis results in formation of ketones.
So, Ethane-nitrile reacts with Methyl-magnesium
bromide and it is followed by hydrolysis.
At the end of hydrolysis we get acetone.

11. 3)HYDROLYSIS OF GEM-DIHALIDES
 Ketones are produced by alkaline hydrolysis of those
gem-dihalides.
 In which the two halogen atoms are attached to a non-
terminal carbon atom.
 So, 2,2-Dichloropropane followed by alkaline
hydrolysis and at last acetone will produce.

12. 4) OXIDATION OF ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL
 Ketones can be prepared by controlled oxidation of
secondary alcohol.
 Using an acidified solution of potassium dichromate.
So, 2-Propanol followed by oxidation process and
produce acetone.

13. 5) OZONOLYSIS OF ALKENES
• Ozone is passed through an alkene in an inert solvent, and it
form an ozonide.
• Ozonide are explosives compounds.
• Then warming with zinc and water , it will form aldehydes,
ketones or an aldehyde and ketone, depending upon structure
of alkene.
• So, 2-Methyl-2-butene followed by ozonolysis reaction and
produce acetone and acetaldehyde.

14. 6) FERMENTATION PROCESS
The organisms that carry out the fermentation are
strictly anaerobic(obligate anaerobes).
Production Microorganisms:
1. Clostridium acetobutylicum – 1st organism – industrial production of acetone
from starch.
2. Clostridium saccharoacetobutylicum – convert molasses into acetone &
butanol.
• submerged cultures
• Substrate: sterile diluted molasses or cooked corn meal.
• pH : 7.2
• Type of fermentation: anaerobic
• By-products : CO₂( preparation of dry ice) & H (fuel)
• Product recovery : fractional distillation
Clostridium acetobutylicum
Clostridium saccharoacetobutylicum

15. • In acetone-butanol fermentation, produces solvents in a ratio
of 3 parts acetone, 6 parts butanol to 1 part ethanol.
• Large bioreactors – 200000-1000000 Lr
• CO2 was bubbled through the culture to ensure that O2 was
excluded.
• Fermentation – biphasic Acidogenesis
Solventogenenis
• Acidogenesis forming acetate , butyrate , hydrogen , and CO2.
• Solventogenesis forming butanol, acetone , and ethanol.
• After 40-60 hrs – 12-20gm/L of solvent(6B:3A:E1).
• The solvents was removed by distillation.
• The remaining microbial dried solids were used as high
nutrient animal feed.
ABE (Acetone–Butanol-Ethanol) fermentation.

16. ABE (Acetone–Butanol-Ethanol) fermentation.

17. Q1 Classify the chemical solvents, and explain their
application in our daily life.
Q2 Enumerate the methods used in industrial production of
chemical solvents, such as Acetone.