A novel non-phosgene polycarbonate production process using by-product CO 2 as starting material

作者：Shinsuke Fukuoka, Mamoru Kawamura, Kyosuke Komiya, Masahiro Tojo, Hiroshi Hachiya, Kazumi Hasegawa, Muneaki Aminaka, Hirosige Okamoto, Isaburo Fukawa, Shigenori Konno · 发表于：Green Chemistry · 年份：2003 · DOI：10.1039/b304963a · 被引用次数：468 · 研究领域：biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties、Chemistry and Chemical Engineering、Carbon dioxide utilization in catalysis

Asahi Kasei Corp. has succeeded in the development of a new green process for producing an aromatic polycarbonate based on bisphenol-A (hereafter usually abbreviated as PC) without using phosgene and methylene chloride. The new PC production process is the world's first to use carbon dioxide (CO2) as a starting material. Until Asahi Kasei's new process was revealed, all of the PC in the world has been produced using carbon monoxide (CO) made from cokes or lower hydrocarbons and oxygen as a starting material. Furthermore, more than about 93% of the PC has been produced by the so-called “phosgene process” which uses phosgene made from CO and chlorine (Cl2) as a monomer. However, the phosgene process inherently involves a number of environmental and economic shortcomings in addition to the high toxicity of phosgene itself and the high carcinogenic probability of methylene chloride itself. Asahi Kasei's new process enables high-yield production of the two important products for our citizens’ lives, high-quality PC and high-purity monoethylene glycol (MEG), starting from ethylene oxide (EO), carbon dioxide (CO2) and bisphenol-A. This new technology not only overcomes the environmental and economic problems existing in the phosgene process, but also achieves resource conservation, and energy conservation. Furthermore, the new process contributes to the earth environment by the reduction of CO2 emissions (173 tons per thousand tons of product PC). Commercial application of the new p...