A two-member team at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has successfully converted petroleum waste-product toluene into benzoic acid by using toluene.
Key Facts:
- Toluene when oxidised gets converted into benzoic acid.
- Benzoic acid is used as a food preservative (E210) and medicine for fungal/bacterial infection.
- Toluene is converted into benzoic acid through selective and controlled oxidation in the presence of a catalyst — binaphthyl-stabilised platinum nanoparticles (Pt-BNP).
- Also, a green oxidant (70% aqueous tert-butyl hydroperoxide or TBHP) is used for converting toluene into benzoic acid.
About Toluene:
- Toluene is one of the petrochemical wastes that get released without treatment from industries such as refineries, paint, textile, paper and rubber.
- It is a colorless, water-insoluble liquid with the smell associated with paint thinners.
- Toluene has been reported to cause serious health problems to aquatic life, and studies point that it has genotoxic and carcinogenic effects on human beings.
Sources:The Hindu