Exxonmobil Chemical Patents Inc.

Arie Van Vliet

Raphael Frans Caers

Ronald Dean Garton

Eddy Theophile Van Driessche

Hubertus Joseph Beckers

Charles Morris Yarbrough

Carl Robert Beck

Philippe Louis Buess

Krishnan Sankaranarayanan

Eddy T A Van Driessche

Jean-Jacques G Muls

Matthew Findlay

Kenneth L Riley

Allen David Godwin

Ramzi Yanni Saleh

Jose M Vargas

Stephen Wayne Beadle

Magdiel Agosto

Eddy Theophyle Andrea Van Driessche

Edwin Kooke

Alfons Cuyckens

John J Houben

Michel J P Lepagnol

Bertrand Raymond Da Cruz

Ken L Riley

Hubertus J Beckers

Ronald D Garton

Ronald Garton

Michel Lepagnol

Hubertus Beckers

Bertrand Da Cruz

The present invention relates to alcohols and in particular to Cto Calcohols that are used in the production of esters.

Processes relating to alcohols for the production of esters

The disclosure generally relates to a process for the production of a C-Calcohol mixture including the steps of hydroformylating an olefin mixture including at least one branched C-Colefin to form a hydroformylation product including aldehydes and formates; feeding the hydroformylation product into a hydrogenation step including contacting, in at least one first hydrogenation reactor, at least one catalyst, water, hydrogen, and the hydroformylation product to convert the hydroformylation product to a C-Calcohol mixture; wherein the hydrogen is supplied from the decomposition of the formates and at least one source external to the at least one first hydrogenation reactor.

Processes for the production of alcohols

Embodiments of the invention disclosed herein relate to a process for the production of a C-Calcohol mixture comprising the steps of: hydroformylating an olefin mixture comprising a branched C-Colefin to form a hydroformylation product comprising aldehydes and formate esters, whereby the hydroformylation product has a net cold sap number from 15 to 38 mg KOH/g, and converting the aldehydes and formate esters to alcohols in a hydrogenation step comprising at least one first hydrogenation reactor comprising a fixed bed of a heterogeneous sulphided bimetallic catalyst.

Plasticiser alcohol and production improvement

Oxo-alcohols in the plasticizer range typically contain small amounts of methyl esters having the same alkyl chain as the alcohol itself. These methyl esters are causing product quality problems and environmental problems because of transesterification in the esterification process where the plasticizer ester derivatives are produced. A process using controlled oxonation and hydrogenation conditions is disclosed for the production of alcohols containing low amounts of methyl esters. Plasticizer esters with low amounts of aliphatic di-alkyl esters are also disclosed.

In a hydroformylation reaction, the circulation and recovery of cobalt carbonyl in a cobalt catalyst cycle using carbonylate as an intermediate and acidification thereof, is improved by supplying an aqueous sulfuric acid solution containing less than 16% wt of sulfuric acid to the carbonylate to control sulfuric acid concentration in the carbonylate/acid mixture, before accounting for any acid consuming reaction, to a value of from 2% to 10% by weight. Single step and multistage liquid/liquid extraction techniques as well as vapor/liquid extraction techniques followed by the absorption of cobalt from the vapor in an organic liquid both benefit from this improvement.

Cobalt recovery from cobalt catalysed hydroformylation reactions

The invention relates to improvements in internal loop reactors. The reactor of the invention is characterized by a plurality of cooling tubes which form the annulus between the riser and the downcomer path of said internal loop reactor. The reactor also provides improvements in hydroformylation reactions using the improved reactor.

Internal loop reactor and Oxo process using same

The use of a controlled amount of water in a hydrogenation stage of the oxo process for the production of alcohols which uses at least two reactors in series improves the efficiency of the hydrogenation reaction and catalyst life as does a reduction in the amount of sulphur, chlorine and hydroformylation catalyst residues in the feed to hydrogenation.

Hydrogenation

The gas cycle in a high pressure hydroformylation reaction using a series of at least two reactors is controlled to optimise yield, conversion and selectivity and to control reaction temperature. The control is achieved through balancing fresh gases and recycle gases in each of the reactors and as an optional feature the use of hydrogen off gases from the downstream hydrogenation used in the conversion of the hydroformylation reaction product to product alcohols.

Hydroformylation

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Sterrebeek, Belgium

Arie Van Vliet