Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited

Hirofumi Koike

Noriaki Oku

Tomonori Kawabata

Shoko Ikeda

Takuo Takemoto

Motoshi Nakamura

Satoru Takemoto

Tatsuro Uekusa

A method for producing cumene involves subjecting cumyl alcohol to (a) hydrocracking reaction, or (b) dehydration and subsequent hydrogenation reaction, to obtain cumene. The method includes the following steps:

Method for producing cumene

A method for producing propylene oxide involves an oxidation step, a distillation step, an epoxidation step, and a separation step. The distillation step involves distilling the reaction mixture containing cumene hydroperoxide to separate it into a concentrate containing cumene hydroperoxide and a distillate. The reaction mixture is continuously distilled so that the ratio of the flow rate of the distillate to the flow rate of the reaction mixture to be distilled is 0.037 to 0.13. The epoxidation step involves obtaining a reaction mixture containing propylene oxide and cumyl alcohol by contacting the concentrate with propylene in the presence of a catalyst in one or more reactors to cause a reaction between propylene and cumene hydroperoxide in the concentrate, in which the outlet temperature of the final reactor is adjusted to 115&#xb0; C. or more and less than 140&#xb0; C.

Method for producing propylene oxide

A process for producing &agr;-phenylethyl alcohol, which comprises supplying a raw material containing acetophenone into a reactor and hydrogenating acetophenone in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst, wherein the concentrations of organic acids and sulfur-containing acids in the raw material containing acetophenone are 1 &mgr;mol/g or less and 0.5 &mgr;mol/g or less, respectively.

Process for producing &agr;-phenylethyl alcohol

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Ichihara, Japan

Hirofumi Koike