Production of Cellulose Acetate

Cellulose Acetate is...

  • made from cotton and wood
  • produced from processing pulp in three main stages; activation, acetylation and hydrolysis. The pulp is processed using acetic anhydride to form cellulose acetate flake from which products are made.
  • Chemical and word equations of the production process:

1. [C6H7O2(OH)3]n+ 3n(CH3CO)2O ------> [C6H7O2(OOCCH3)3]n + 3nCH3COOH
Cellulose + Acetic Anhydride(with the catalyst:H2SO4)------> Cellulose Triacetate +Acetic Acid

2. [C6H7O2(OOCCH3)3]n ------> [C6H7O2 (OH) (OCOCH3)2]n
Cellulose Triacetate------> Cellulose Diacetate/Secondary Cellulose Acetate

Glossary:
Activation is the process whereby something is prepared or excited for a subsequent reaction.
Acetylation introduces an acetyl functional group into an organic compound.
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction or process in which a chemical compound reacts with water, and is used to break down polymers.
Polymers:
numerous natural and synthetic compounds with repeated link units.

No comments: