Acetic anhydride

Acetic anhydride (figure 1 ), first synthesized in 1852 by C. Gerhardt, is the most widely used of the organic anhydrides.

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The advent of acetate textile fibers gave it considerable importance in the early 1920s. Today, it is still mainly used as an acetylating agent in the manufacture of cellulose acetate. In order to recycle by-product acetic acid, virtually all acetic anhydride production processes use acetic acid as a raw material (ketene and Eastman processes). BP Chemicals, which is not involved in the manufacture of cellulose acetate, uses methanol and carbon monoxide as raw materials.

For economic data, please refer to pages [J 6 690] in the same volume.