Basf Aktiengesellschaft

Badische Anilin- & Soda-fabrik Aktiengesellschaft

Heinz Engelbach

Richard Krabetz

Gerd Duembgen

Carl-Heinz Willersinn

Michael Jolyon Sprague

Fritz Thiessen

Ulrich Lebert

Peter Palm

Walter Herrmann

Walter Frey

Karl Sommer

Heinrich Spahn

Leopold Hupfer

Klaus Halbritter

Wolfgang Franzischka

Roland Krokoszinski

Martin Decker

Fritz Graf

Wolfgang Sauer

Hermann Wistuba

Norbert Scholz

Werner Steigleiter

Gerd-Juergen Engert

Helmut Glietenberg

Herbert Armbrust

Harald Schultheiss

Walter Beitelschmidt

Hermann Spitzl

Hans-Juergen Sturm

Harry Hoffmann

Aromatic nitriles, in particular phthalodinitriles, are prepared from an appropriately alkyl-substituted aromatic hydrocarbon by catalytic oxidation with oxygen or an oxygen-containing gas in the presence of ammonia at elevated temperatures in the vapor phase, in the presence of a catalyst which contains from 2 to 10% by weight of vanadium(V) oxide, from 1 to 10% by weight of antimony(III) oxide, from 0.02 to 2% by weight of an alkali metal oxide and alumina, by a process in which from 0.01 to 1.0% by weight of an alkaline earth metal, or of a compound of an alkaline earth metal, in particular barium or a barium compound, is added to the catalyst.

Preparation of aromatic nitriles

A process for the preparation of carbonyl compounds by oxidation of alcohols in the gas phase with a gas containing oxygen in the presence of catalysts containing copper or silver and a phosphorus compound that is volatile under the conditions of the reaction, the ratio of the mass of phosphorus to the mass of the alcohol being less than 0.5 ppm.

Preparation of carbonyl compounds

Production of acrylic acid by oxidation of acrolein with gas containing oxygen in the gas phase at elevated temperature in the presence of a catalyst which, in addition to oxygen, consists essentially of (a) molybdenum, (b) tungsten, (c) vanadium and (d) iron and/or copper. The atomic ratio of molybdenum:tungsten:iron and/or copper is 1 to 20:0.01 to 10:1 and the atomic ratio of vanadium:molybdenum is 0.2 to 6:6. Acrylic acid is an important starting material for the production of high polymers.

Production of acrylic acid by oxidation of acrolein

A process for the continuous preparation of glyoxal by oxidation of ethylene glycol, in which the ethylene glycol, oxygen and an inert gas are passed, at from 450.degree. to 800.degree. C., over a catalyst consisting of one or more layers of copper crystals and one or more layers of silver crystals, the copper and silver crystals having a particle size of from 0.1 to 2.5 mm.

Preparation of glyoxal

Catalysts, for olefin oligomerization, whose active material has the empirical formula I

Olefin oligomerization catalysts and a process for their preparation

A coated catalyst comprising (a) an inert carrier having particles of not less than 100 .mu.m diameter and a surface area of up to 20 m.sup.2 /g and (b) a coating which contains the catalytic material and adheres firmly to the outer surface and to the edge zone, near the surface, of the carrier particles, can be prepared by applying the catalytic material as a 10-70% strength suspension in water to the agitated carrier particles, which are at below 70.degree. C., if the suspension is sprayed, at a constant rate of from 0.01 to 2.0 kg of active material/hour/liter of carrier onto the carrier particles, while at the same time uniformly passing from 0.1 to 12 m.sup.3 (S.T.P.)/hour/liter of carrier of an inert gas at from 20.degree. to 300.degree. C. over the carrier particles, under conditions such that the water only evaporates incompletely but the water content of the resulting coating is less than the maximum degree of saturation of the catalytic material.

Preparation of coated catalysts

Acrolein and methacrolein are prepared advantageously by oxidizing propylene or isobutylene, respectively, with an oxygen-containing gas mixture under conventional conditions over a supported catalyst possessing a firmly adhering coating, from 150 to 1,500 .mu.m thick, which contains calcined catalytic material based on molybdenum oxide and has a carrier core with a surface area of less than 15 m.sup.2 /g and a diameter of more than 100 .mu.m, if a coated catalyst is used which has been prepared by applying calcined catalytic material having a particle size of from 0.1 to 300 .mu.m, in an amount of from 1 to 40 g/min/liter of carrier and water in a weight ratio of catalytic material to water of from 1:1 to 8:1, continuously and separately from one another, each at a constant speed, at below 100.degree. C. to vigorously agitated carrier particles which may or may not have been premoistened with water in an amount of up to 95% of the water absorbency of the particles, the prepartion of the catalyst being carried out in such a way that the water content of the coating which forms is less than the maximum degree of saturation of the catalytic material.

Preparation of .alpha.,.beta.-olefinically unsaturated aldehydes of 3 or

A coated catalyst comprising (a) an inert carrier having a particle diameter of not less than 100 .mu.m and a surface area of up to 20 m.sup.2 /g and (b) a coating which firmly adheres to the outer surface and in the edge zone, near the surface, of the carrier particles, and which contains the catalytic material, can be prepared by applying the catalytic material in the form of a powder of particle size not more than 300 .mu.m, in the presence of water, to the vigorously agitated carrier by a process wherein catalytically active material in an amount of from 1 to 40 g/minute/liter of carrier, and water in a weight ratio of catalytic material to water of from 1:1 to 30:1, are applied continuously and spatially separate from one another, each at a constant speed, onto the carrier particles, which may or may not have been pre-moistened with water in an amount of up to 95% of the particle absorbency, in such a way that the water content of the coating which forms is less than the maximum degree of saturation of the coating of catalytic material.

A process for the preparation of glyoxal by vapor phase oxidation of ethylene glycol with oxygen over a copper-containing oxidation catalyst at an elevated temperature and in the presence of a phosphorus compound which is volatile under the reaction conditions, the amount of phosphorus (calculated as P) being from 1 to 100 ppm, based on the weight of ethylene glycol.

Preparation of glyoxal from ethylene glycol

Catalysts which consist of a molded carrier, the surface of which is coated with an active catalyst composition of the general formula Mo.sub.12 A.sub.a B.sub.b C.sub.c D.sub.d O.sub.x, where A is V and/or W, B is Cu and/or Fe and/or Mn and/or Ni and/or Cr, C is Nb and/or Ta and/or Bi and/or Sb and/or Sn and/or Th and/or Ce and/or U, D is Li and/or Na and/or K and/or Rb and/or Cs and/or Tl and a is from 0.1 to 18, b is from 0 to 8, c is from 0 to 10, d is from 0 to 2 and x is from 36 to 135, which are particularly active and selective for the oxidation of acrolein and methacrolein with oxygen-containing gases to give acrylic acid and methacrylic acid, respectively, are obtained by first manufacturing the catalyst composition, before applying it to the carrier, from thermally easily decomposed salts of the components by mixing aqueous solutions, slurries or moist solid masses of the salts of the components, drying the mixture and calcining the dried composition at from 140.degree. to 600.degree. C., then milling it to a particle size of less than 150 .mu.m and thereafter applying it, as a mixture with water, as a layer from 10 to 1,500 .mu.m thick, to the premolded carrier, which has a rough surface.

Catalyst for the oxidation of acrolein and methacrolein to acrylic acid

Novel coated catalysts and a process for their preparation by atomizing a mixture of water and a vanadium-V compound, with or without other metal compounds, and applying this mixture to carrier particles which are themselves in motion, drying the coating and subjecting the catalyst particles, which are themselves in motion, to repeated brief treatment with a flame or plasma, followed by rapid cooling, defined temperatures and rates of coating being employed. The catalysts may be used with advantage for the preparation of anthraquinones by oxidation of indans.

Coated catalysts and their preparation

The invention relates to a process for the production of anthraquinone by catalytic oxidation of indans or diphenylmethane derivatives with oxygen in the presence of a vanadium (V) compound with or without one or more than one compund of potassium, boron, thallium, antimony and/or caesium. Anthraquinone which can be prepared by the process according to this invention is a valuable starting material for the production of dyes and pesticides.

Production of anthraquinone

In the oxidation of propylene and/or acrolein, high-boiling or non-volatile byproducts are separated from the solvents used for absorbing the acrylic acid by treating the said solvents laden with byproducts with the hot reaction gases in such amounts that the major portion of the solvents evaporates, the residual solvent containing a high percentage of said byproducts then being discarded or worked up.

Method of separating high-boiling or non-volatile materials

In the oxidation of .alpha.-olefins in the gas phase to .alpha.,.beta.-olefinically unsaturated aldehydes and carboxylic acids with molecular oxygen in the presence of an inert gas using a catalyst containing molybdenum and bismuth with elements as oxides or mixed oxides at from 280.degree. to 450.degree. C a content of indium and/or aluminum and/or lanthanum and/or gallium as oxide or mixed oxide results in an improvement in the conversion and/or activity and/or life of the catalyst.

Catalytic oxidation of .alpha.-olefins

Anthraquinone is produced by oxidation of diphenylmethane compounds in the gaseous phase in the presence of oxygen-containing compounds of vanadium and titanium and at least one other metal in a specific ratio by weight. Anthraquinone prepared by the process of the invention is a starting material for the production of dyes and pesticides.

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Limburgerhof, Germany

Heinz Engelbach