Linalool synthesis from α-pinene:: kinetic peculiarities of catalytic steps

Synthesis of linalool from alpha -pinene which includes consecutively alpha -pinene hydrogenation to pinane on Pd/C catalyst, pinane oxidation to pinane-hydroperoxide by molecular oxygen and pinane-hydroperoxide hydrogenation to pinanol on Pd/C catalyst followed by its thermal isomerization to linalool is discussed. The effects of the reagent concentrations, temperature and catalyst content on the reaction rate and selectivity are studied. The kinetic peculiarities and the mechanisms of reactions are presented. The synthetic conditions of high-selective linalool preparation are found. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.