Originally posted by Geomancer
I, too, have my doubts, but obtaining glyceraldehyde isn't one of them. Trying to oxidize a whole pot of glycerol won't work, of course. You
have to accept a small conversion, and then find a way to do the separation, e. g. form the cellulose acetal (looks to be thermodynamicly favored) and
filter. Glyceraldehyde can also be obtained from an acrolein acetal with KMnO<sub>4</sub>. For a real pipe dream, try the EG acetal and
form yer acetaldehyde in situ from the cleaved EG.
The real problem involves the solvent and dehydrating reagent used. I can't think of an otc solvent that would work. Possibly ether. Sulfuric
acid can't be used to do the dehydration since it would protonate all the nitrogens.
Still, the idea is attractive. The industrial route is from coal tar. I like the above route because the precursors are simple, safe, and cheap.
Perhaps acetaldehyde+phosgene+ammonia? |