Benzene nitration leads to the production of mononitrobenzene (MNB), a precursor to aniline. The presence of by-products is a concern for MNB's producers and the minimization of their formation is considered a target for process optimization. In fact, a lot of work has been dedicated to understanding and reducing by-products formation. Aiming to contribute to the understanding of by-product reaction pathway, experiments can be performed in order to assess its formation in terms of nitric acid conversion profile. The reliability of studies relies on several factors from the sample collection procedure to the analytical methods used when multiple compounds are present. A literature survey confirms high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as the best analytical technique for phenol and its nitrated derivatives. An extensive study was carried out and the optimization of the HPLC method enabled the analysis of every nitrophenolic species formed in nitration process using only one analytical method.

Benzene nitration:  By-product quantification

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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