Hydrogen peroxide

H2O2 is produced by the anthraquinone auto-oxidation (AO) process.

Synthesis
Step1 Hydrogenation
Palladium catalyses the reaction between H2 and anthraquinone to create anthrahydroquinone
(H2Q):
Q + H
2
H
2
Q

Step 2 - Filtration
The palladium catalyst is filtered out of the solution.

Step 3 - Oxidation
The solution is oxidised by blowing air through the solution, forming the H
2
O
2
:
H
2
Q + O
2
Q + H
2
O
2


Step 4 - H
2
O
2
Extraction
The hydrogen peroxide is removed in a liquid-liquid extraction column and concentrated by vacuum
distillation.