Cpc Corporation, Taiwan

Shiny Chemical Industrial Co., Ltd.

Christina Dirk-Faitakis

Karl T Chuang

Tzong-Bin Lin

Hung-Chung Shen

Propylene glycol methyl ether is produced by feeding a solution of a basic catalyst in methanol to a catalytic distillation column containing a heterogeneous basic catalyst defining a heterogeneous reaction zone, and feeding propylene oxide to the column. The methanol reacts with the propylene oxide according to a dual homogeneous catalytic reaction and heterogeneous catalytic reaction to form propylene glycol methyl ether, which is removed from the column as a bottoms product. Alternatively, methanol can be reacted with propylene oxide in a pre-reactor, to form propylene glycol methyl ether, and, when the temperature in the pre-reactor reaches about 100&#xb0; C., the reaction products are transferred to the catalytic distillation column for further reaction.

Process for producing propylene glycol methyl ether

A continuous epoxidation process for the production of high purity propylene oxide by the reaction of propylene with an oxidant that is a per-acid, such as peracetic acid (PAA), in a reactive distillation (RD) column. The RD column provides excellent heat integration and temperature control, and the process has the advantage of lower investment cost for capital equipment. The process operates at mild temperatures and pressures. A ferric acetylacetonate homogeneous catalyst and/or stabilizer may be included as part of the PAA feed to the process to increase PAA conversion and selectivity to propylene oxide. A pre-reactor can be incorporated upstream of the RD column to increase the residence time at lower temperatures to enhance productivity.

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Edmonton, Canada

Christina Dirk-Faitakis