(1) A general process for oxidizing aliphatic hydrocarbons to aldehydes or ketones by the use of oxygen, catalyzed by an aqueous solution of mixed palladium and copper chlorides. Ethylene is thus oxidized to acetaldehyde. If the reaction is conducted in acetic acid, the product is vinyl acetate. The process can be operated with the catalyst in solution, or with the catalyst deposited on a support such as activated carbon. There has been a considerable amount of fundamental research on the reaction mechanism, which is believed to proceed by alternate oxidation and reduction of the palladium: CH2+CH2 + PdCl2 + H2O + CH3CHO + Pd + 2HCl ? Pd + 2HCl + 1?2O2 + PdCl2 + H2O. The naming of this process has been confused because of various corporate relationships. The basic invention was created in 1957 at the Consortium für Elektrochemische Industrie, Munich, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wacker-Chemie. It has therefore been called both the Wacker process and the Consortium process. But for many years, Wacker-Chemie has had a close relationship with Farbwerke Hoechst and the latter company has participated in some of the development and licensing activities, so two other names have come to be used: Wacker-Hoechst and Hoechst-Wacker. The five inventors (J. Schmidt, W. Hafner, J. (2) A process for making sodium salicylate by reacting sodium phenate with carbon dioxide. (Check source for accuracy of chemical formula)