Theory of Modification The authors believe and experiments indicate that the violence of the ordinary Skraup reaction is due to the sudden liberation of acrolein result- ing from the action of sulfuric acid upon the glycerol. The acetic acid was introduced in an effort to form a glycerol mono or diacetate and thereby remove a large proportion of the glycerol from the reaction sphere. Acetic acid was used because it is quite stable and relatively cheap.
