| abstract |
Peroxycarboxylic acid compositions containing stabilizing ingredients are produced by the hydrogen peroxide peroxidation of corresponding carboxylic acids which are not substantially soluble in water by a continuous process in which the peroxidation reaction takes place in solution in concentrated sulfuric acid, or other strong acid, while that solution is intimately interdispersed, by means of agitation, with methylene chloride, or other organic solvent, in which the resulting peroxycarboxylic acid is soluble, but the carboxylic acid is not, and the sulfuric acid, or other acid, is recovered from the effluent of the process by reacting it with borax and caustic soda or soda ash to form crystals of boric acid and sodium salt of the strong acid which, in admixture with peroxycarboxylic acid recovered from the effluent, form the peroxycarboxylic acid composition product. The methylene chloride is also recovered from the effluent and recycled to the process. |