Agency of Industrial Science and Technology

Nippon Soda Co., Ltd.

Sanko Chemical Company Ltd.

Juichi Imamura

Fujio Mizukami

Shuichi Niwa

Toshio Ishikawa

Takashi Hayakawa

Katsuomi Takehira

Yoshio Orito

Kazuo Shimizu

The invention provides an improvement in the partial nuclear hydrogenation of an aromatic hydrocarbon compound in the liquid phase with admixture of water catalyzed by a ruthenium-containing solid catalyst. The scope of the invention is in the use of a novel ruthenium-containing catalyst supported on a silica gel and the like carrier and the catalyst is prepared by the hydrolysis and gelation of an alkoxide of silicon or aluminum in a solution containing a ruthenium compound, e.g. ruthenium alkoxide, followed by drying of the gelled material so that the resultant catalyst is very uniformly impregnated with the ruthenium ingredient to be imparted with greatly improved catalytis activity and selectivity for the intended reaction over conventional ruthenium-containing catalysts prepared by post-impregnation of a preformed silica gel carrier.

Method for partial nuclear hydrogenation of aromatic hydrocarbon

The invention provides an efficient method for the preparation of cycloheone by the liquid-phase oxidation of cyclohexene in the presence of a catalyst system. The rate of conversion of the cyclohexene and the yield of cyclohexanone are unexpectedly increased when the reaction mixture brought into contact with oxygen or air contains a limited amount of an aliphatic alcohol having 2-10 carbon atoms in a molecule such as ethyl alcohol with the catalyst system composed of a palladium compound, e.g. PdCl.sub.2, and at least one co-catalytic ingredient which is a copper compound or iron compound such as CuCl.sub.2 or FeCl.sub.3. The influence of benzene or cyclohexane admixed in the reaction mixture was studied to indicate no adverse effects or even better results in the reaction giving further advantages of the process in which the starting cyclohexene need not be purified and can be used as prepared by the partial hydrogenation of benzene or partial dehydrogenation of cyclohexane.

Method for the preparation of cyclohexanone

A process for the production of alcohols and/or aldehydes which comprises subjecting a toluene derivative having an ether linkage or linkages of the general formula: ##STR1## wherein RO is an ether grouping where R stands for a hydrocarbyl group with 1.about.20 carbon atoms which may carry an inert substituent or substituents and n stands for an integer of 1.about.2, to auto-oxidation with molecular oxygen in liquid phase to form the corresponding alcohol and/or aldehyde, characterized in that the reaction is carried out by using a lower saturated fatty acid and/or an anhydride thereof as solvent in the presence of a soluble cobalt salt and a bromine ion-supplying substance at a reaction temperature ranging from 30.degree. C. to 200.degree. C. in such manner that the conversion rate of the toluene derivative does not exceed 90%.

Process for the production of intermediate oxidation products of

Process for the production of intermediate oxidation products of toluene

A very efficient method with respect to the reaction velocity as well as selectivity is proposed for the preparation of .alpha.-tetralone by the liquid phase oxidation of tetralin with oxygen, in which a binary catalyst is employed which is composed of a compound of chromium or cobalt soluble in the reaction mixture and an N,N-dialkyl substituted carboxylic acid amide such as N,N-dimethylformamide, N,N-dimethylacetamide and the like.

Method for the preparation of .alpha.-tetralone

Growing community of inventors

Chofu, Japan

Juichi Imamura