Di-tertiary-alkyl peroxide production

Claim 1

THE PROCESS FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF MOLECULAR OXYGEN AND ISOBUTANE TO REACTION PRODUCTS CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF DI-TERT-BUTYL PEROXIDE IN A CONTINUOUS UNITARY OPERATION WHICH COMPRISES, REACTING SAID MOLECULAR OXYGEN NONCATALYTICALLY WITH SAID ISOBUTANE IN THE LIQUID PHASE AT TERT-BUTYL HYDROPEROXIDE- AND YERT-BUTYL ALCOHOLFORMING CONDITIONS AT A TEMPERATURE ABOVE ABOUT 100* C. BUT NOT SUBSTANTIALLY ABOVE 150*C., AT A PRESSURE ABOVE ABOUT 400 P. S. I. G. IN A SUBSTANTIALLY METAL ION FREE INITIALLY ADDED REACTION MEDIUM CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF ISOBUTANE, TERT-BUTYL HYDROPEROXIDE AND TERT-BUTYL ALCOHOL, THEREBY REACTING MOLECULAR OXYGEN WITH ISOBUTANE WITH THE FORMATION OF AN OXIDATION REACTION MIXTURE CONTAINING TERT-BUTYL ALCOHOL AND TERT-BUTYL HYDROPEROXIDE, CONTACTING THE RESULTING OXIDATION REACTION MIXTURE WITH A MINERAL ACID AT A TEMPERATURE OF RTOM ABOUT 10 TO ABOUT 75*C., THEREBY REACTING TERT-BUTYL ALCOHOL WITH TERT-BUTYL HYDROPEROXIDE WITH THE FOMATION OF A REACTION MIXTURE CONTAINING DI-TERT-BUTYL PEROXIDE, AND SEPARATING DI-TERTBUTYL PEROXIDE FROM RESULTING REACTION MIXTURE.