Butyric acid is one of the most important compounds used in the chemical, food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. This acid is a liquid, colorless, transparent, with a pungent and penetrating smell, which is soluble in water and most organic solvents in any proportion. But one of the interesting points about butyric acid is that, despite its very unpleasant smell, this acid is used in the perfumery industry and its ester derivatives to increase the aroma of drinks, food and cosmetic-sanitary products. They are also used in raw form to produce biodegradable polymers based on β-hydroxybutyrate. Among the evaluated methods, such as the use of UHP, a mixture of FeCl3.6H2O:UHP, potassium permanganate, potassium permanganate deposited on other mineral salts, such as copper sulfate pentahydrate (CuSO4·5H2O) or potassium permanganate deposited on Regarding manganese dioxide (MnO2) and also nitronium salt, in the conversion of butanol to butyric acid, the use of nitronium salt resulting from the reaction of nitric acid and sulfuric acid was evaluated as the best possible method. However, despite the significant increase in efficiency in the presence of potassium permanganate embedded catalysts, research was put on the agenda in order to optimize the process and make it more economical. Studies showed that the nitronium salt obtained from nitric acid in the presence of a catalytic amount of sulfuric acid is nitronium sulfate (NO2+HSO4-), which is a much cheaper and more accessible oxidant than other evaluated methods. Based on this, the use of this mixture is the most effective method in converting butanol to butyric acid, which has been proven to be more than 80% efficient.

Keywords