Topic: modren production of vanillin as a petroleum product

Sheila LaBoof started this discussion 9 years ago #59,226

First get some petroleum out of the earth. Then process out some phenol. Next use hydrogen peroxide with it to make catecol. Use potash and dimethyl sulfate on the catecol to make guaiacol. Wiki says that today most vanillin is produced from the petrochemical raw material guaiacol and that everal routes exist for synthesizing vanillin from guaiacol. It used to be that lignin from waste from making wood pulp was the main source of making vanillin. You see, the demand for the vanilla taste outstrips our ability to get it from actual vanilla beans.

ken griffey sr joined in and replied with this 9 years ago, 2 hours later[^] [v] #754,435

sheiladraad

Meta joined in and replied with this 9 years ago, 7 hours later, 9 hours after the original post[^] [v] #754,471

mmmm yummy lignin ?

Sheila LaBoof (OP) replied with this 9 years ago, 2 hours later, 11 hours after the original post[^] [v] #754,490

Today's chief vanillin producer is the chemical company Solvay, based in Belgium, since they bought French company Rhodia a few years ago. From a 2013 press release: Solvay Aroma Performance is the worlds biggest producer of vanillin with facilities in Baton Rouge in the United States and Saint-Fons in France. Combined with the new plant in Zhenjiang, expected to be operational by the end of 2014, the companys worldwide production capacities for vanillin and ethyl-vanillin will expand significantly.

(Edited 37 seconds later.)

Minichan