Hydroxylamine production

Hydroxylamine is an important product in various chemical sectors. It is frequently used as a starting material to manufacture ε-caprolactam, whose largest outlet is Nylon-6 polymers. The global demand for ε -caprolactam is expected to reach 4.5 million metric tons by 2010. Most of ε -caprolactam is derived from the reaction of cyclohexanone with hydroxylamine to give cyclohexanone oxime, followed by Beckmann rearrangement. The hydroxylamine required for this process is usually produced by the selective hydrogenation of nitric oxide or nitric acid with precious metal powder catalysts. Palladium on activated carbon was found to be one of the most effective systems for the selective hydrogenation of nitric acid.

Dedicated Catalysts for Hydroxylamine production

Evonik has successfully developed the following palladium on activated carbon catalysts which have proven highly active and selective catalyst system during the hydrogenation of nitric acid to hydroxylamine, while showing fast filtering properties.

E 105 R/W 10% Pd
E 1532 BB/W 8-15%Pd
E 1097 BBF/W 8-15%Pd

Services for Hydroxylamine customers

Apart from offering commercial (Pd/C) or tailor-made catalysts (e.g. multimetallic catalysts), Evonik provides technical support and in-house testing of catalysts.