Succinic Acid from Renewable Resources as a C sub(4) Building-Block Chemical-A Review of the Catalytic Possibilities in Aqueous Media

The production of succinic acid from renewable resources as a C sub(4) building-block chemical, was analyzed. The optimization of the reaction conditions of a catalytic system was an important part in the development of an industrial process, especially when the process consists of a complex system of reactions. It was observed, that at sufficiently high substrate concentrations, the influence of the ligand concentration was relatively small. It was found that the main reaction pathway involved a monohydride complex because a strong pH dependence of the reaction rate of crotonic acid and allyl alcohol was observed in the reactions. The results showed that systematic catalyst design and optimization of the reaction conditions improved the catalyst activities.