Example: Aspirin® production (Bayer trademark)

Synthesis routes to
acetylsalicylic acid

• Salicin isolated from willow

bark (historical/natural route)
• current industrial route via
phenol (Kolbe-Schmitt-
Kolbe-
Schmitt-
reaction: carboxylation)
reaction

Salicylic acid Acetylsalicylic acid

Main reaction: exothermic reaction

of salicylic acid with acetic
anhydride

Acetylsalicylic acid: ester of

salicylic acid (provides the
hydroxyl group) and acetic acid

Production of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA)

- so called dedicated plant (no MPP)
- production volume: ~ 35.000 t/a
(not clearly a fine chem. process)

ASS crystals

(reaction:
(storage) esterification) (crystallization) (downstream processing)

• Glass-lined or stainless-steel batch reactor; solvent: HAc, (CCl4, hydrocarbons)

• Reaction period: 2-3 h; T must be kept below 90°C (∆RH < 0)
• After reaction, liquid product mixture is pumped to a crystallizer, where it is cooled to 0°C
• Suspension is transferred to a filter for mother liquor removal; crystals are washed with solvent,
afterwards slurried and washed again; dried
• HAc as by-product is recovered; solvent and unconverted anhydride are recycled to the reactor