Dow Global Technolgoies LLC

Basf Se Corporation

Holger Baer

Joaquim Henrique Teles

Ulrich Mueller

Andrei-Nicolae Parvulescu

Markus Weber

Dominic Riedel

Daniel Urbanczyk

Meinolf Weidenbach

Bianca Seelig

Philip Kampe

Werner J Witzl

Alexander Schroeder

Karsten Luecke

Eckhard Goertz

A continuous process for preparing propylene oxide proceeds by (a) reacting propene with hydrogen peroxide in a reaction apparatus in the presence acetonitrile as solvent, obtaining a stream S0 containing propylene oxide, acetonitrile, water, at least one further component B; (b) separating propylene oxide from S0, obtaining stream S1 containing acetonitrile, water and B; (c) dividing S1 into streams S2 and S3; (d) subjects S3 to vapor-liquid fractionation in a first fractionation unit, obtaining vapor fraction stream S4a being depleted, relative to S3, of at least one of B and obtaining liquid bottoms stream S4b, and subjecting at least part of vapor fraction stream S4a to vapor-liquid fractionation in a second fractionation unit, obtaining vapor fraction stream S4c and liquid bottoms stream S4 being depleted, relative to S4a, of at least one of B; (e) recycling at least a portion of S4 to (a).

Part-stream distillation

A continuous process for the preparation of propylene oxide, comprising (a) reacting propene, optionally admixed with propane, with hydrogen peroxide in a reaction apparatus in the presence of acetonitrile as solvent, obtaining a stream Scontaining propylene oxide, acetonitrile, water, at least one further component B, optionally propene and optionally propane, wherein the normal boiling point of the at least one component B is higher than the normal boiling point of acetonitrile and wherein the decadic logarithm of the octanol-water partition coefficient (log K) of the at least one component B is greater than zero; (b) separating propylene oxide from S, obtaining a stream Scontaining acetonitrile, water and the at least one further component B; (c) dividing Sinto two streams Sand S; (d) subjecting Sto a vapor-liquid fractionation in a fractionation unit, obtaining a vapor fraction stream Sbeing depleted of the at least one component B; (e) recycling at least a portion of S, optionally after work-up, to (a).

The present invention provides a process for the production of chlorohydrins, comprising generating a chlorohydrins processing stream and contacting at least a portion of a surface comprising a austenitic stainless steel with the chlorohydrin processing stream. It has now been surprisingly discovered that certain stainless steels can be utilized to form portions, or the entirety of, one or more pieces of processing equipment utilized in such processes.

Chlorohydrin processing equipment comprising stainless steel

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Stade, Germany

Holger Baer