Process for oxidizing a primary alchol

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR OXIDIZING AROMATIC PRIMARY ALCOHOL TO CORRESPONDING AROMATIC CARBOXYLIC ACID WHICH COMPRISES TREATING THE SAID AROMATIC PRRIMARY ALCOHOL WITH NICKEL PEROXIDE IN AQUEOUS ALKALINE MEDIUM AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN ABOUT 0*C. AND ABOUT 60*C., SAID MEDIUM CONTAINING SUFFICIENT ALKALI TO NEUTRALIZE THE PRODUCED AROMATIC CARBOXYLIC ACID, AND RECOVERING THE LATTER IN FREE FORM FROM THE REACTION MIXTURE, THE SAID NICKEL PEROXIDE BEING THE PRODUCT OF THE TREATMENT OF A SALT OF NICKEL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF NICKEL CHLORIDE, NICKEL SULFATE, NICKEL CARBONATE AND NICKEL NITRATE WITH AN OXIDIZING AGENT SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ALKALI HYPHOHALITE AND ALKALI PERSULFATE IN AQUEOUS ALKALINE MEDIUM AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN 10 AND 25*C., FOLLOWED BY THE STEPS OF COLLECTING, WASHING WITH WATER, AND DRYING THE RESULTANT NICKEL PEROXIDE PRECIPITATE, THE STARTING AROMATIC PRIMARY ALCOHOL BEING SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF BENZYL, ALCOHOL, PHENETHYL, ALCOHOL, 3-PHENYL-1PROPANOL, 2-METHYL-BENZYL ALCOHOL, 3-METHYL-BENZYL ALCOHOL AND 4-METHYL-BENZYL ALCOHOL.