Page 36 - The engineering of chemical reactions

20 Introduction

18. Roundup (glyphosphate)
19. PCB
20. chlorophyll
21. citronella
22. morphine
23. heroin
24. thalidomide
2.5. penicillin
26. glycerin
21. caffeine
28. citric acid

1.12 The following problems relate to the molecules in the figure.
(a) How does one convert salicylic acid to aspirin?
(b) How does one convert morphine to heroin?
(c) Phenyl acetone is a harmless chemical, yet it is a controlled substance. What can it be easily
converted into? How would you run this reaction? [Do not try part b or c at home.]
(d) What is the reaction by which sucrose is converted into fructose and glucose? This reaction
occurs in your stomach.
(e) What is the reaction by which glucose is converted into fructose? It is probably easier to
visualize this reaction if the molecules are opened up into linear chains. The production of
high-fructose corn syrup in soft drink sweetener is a major chemical process using enzyme
catalysts.
(f) Thalidomide has one chiral center. One isomer is a tranquilizer, while the other causes
serious birth defects. What are these isomers?
(g) What is the reaction that converts fat into soap?
(h) Detergents are made by reacting cr-olefins with sulfuric acid. What are the reactions?
(i) Agent Orange is a fairly harmless herbicide that was used as a defoliant in the Vietnam
War, and dioxin is a minor but very troublesome byproduct of manufacturing Agent Orange.
What is the reaction that converts Agent Orange into dioxin?
(j) Why was PCB a popular heat transfer fluid and transformer oil?