How is the method of producing propionic acid from the byproduct of acetic acid operated?

Propionic Acid was initially produced through the fermentation of sugar or starch, or by separation during wood carbonization or dry distillation. However, fermentation for propionic acid production is a challenging metabolic pathway. Propionibacteria production of propionic acid is inhibited by end-products, making it difficult to accumulate high concentrations of the product. Additionally, product separation is challenging, rendering fermentation methods less competitive compared to chemical synthesis.
The direct oxidation of hydrocarbons is a primary method for producing acetic acid. Using light naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas, or alkanes with boiling points below a certain temperature as raw materials, and manganese, cobalt, or vanadium oxides as catalysts, liquid-phase air oxidation is conducted at 150–250°C and 1.0–5.0 MPa to produce acetic acid, with by-products including formic acid and propionic acid. Per ton of light hydrocarbon, 0.65 tons of acetic acid, 0.06 tons of formic acid, and 0.05 tons of propionic acid can be produced. This process uses inexpensive raw materials and has a simple workflow, but the complex composition of the reaction mixture necessitates extractive distillation and azeotropic distillation for separation and purification, resulting in high investment costs.

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