| Title of Process/ Know-how/ Product/Design/Equipment

Technology for the production of 2-phenyl ethyl alcohol (2-PEA): A synthetic rose aroma by hydrogenation of styrene oxide obtained via non-chlorine route from styrene

IPR Status & Details:

US 7235676, IN 02932DELNP2005, CN 1926124B, EP 1732910 (A1), JP 4733109, KR 101131207 (B1) , WO 2005095370 (A1); US 9040755, IN 3656DEL2011, EP 2791095 (A1), WO 2013088454 (A1))

Application/Uses/Problem being addressed

2-PEA is directly used as a rose fragrance in soap industry and in syrup formulations in pharmaceutical industries. 2-PEA is also a starting material for many industrially important aroma chemicals (e.g., synthetic Kevra) and bio-active compounds.

Salient Technical Features including Competing Features/ Impact

 

  • Non-pyrophoric reusable (up to 100 times) hydrogenation catalyst with high physical strength
  • Lesser Pd loading for hydrogenation and recoverable by an easy process
  • Recyclable solid urea-like organic promoter for epoxidation (lesser effluent generation)
  • Generates no by-products in both steps
  • Intermediate styrene oxide is an important chemical for many other processes
  • TRL Level & Scale of Development:- TRL 6 TRL Reference

    Pilot scale (1 Kg)

    Business scope & opportunity (in terms of scale, cost, market etc.)

    2-phenylethanol (2-PEA) is a naturally occurring rose fragrant chemical currently used as aroma chemical in perfumery, cosmetic industries and in pharmaceutical formulations. The industry uses Pd/C as hydrogenation catalyst for the production of 2-PEA from styrene oxide which is pyrophoric besides producing several by-products, and due to its low physical strength, there is physical loss of the catalyst during recovery operations. Perfumery industry is expanding and 2-PEA would find improving indigenous market opportunity.

    Environmental Considerations

    Benign process with low effluent load owing to use of reusable urea-like organic promoter for epoxidation

    Status of Licensing:

    Licensed technology

    Technology licensed to-

  • Asian Azoles (P) Ltd, Vapi
  • Aquila Organics P. Ltd., Mumbai
  • Eco organics, Rampur, Uttar Pradesh
  • Bharati Rasayan Udyog, Raipur
  • Status of Commercialization:

    Some of the licensee have started putting up a plant for commercial scale manufacture of SO/2-PEA though details of their scale of manufacturing is not known

    Major Raw Materials Needed

    Styrene, Solid urea, manganese sulphate, water, hydrogen peroxide, toluene, ethyl acetate and dichloromethane, Pd/solid base, hydrogen

    Major Plant Equipment and Machinery Required

    Reactor, high pressure reactor, distillation unit, centrifugal/filtration unit

    Techno-Economics

    Attractive and tentatively the product cost would be ~2-2.5 times that of styrene; Available on request;

    Technology Package

    Know-how for 2-PEA and SO; Demonstration of the process; License fee, royalty and other financial details are available on request.

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