Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation

Mitsubishi Chemical Industries Limited

Lion Corporation

The Lion Fat and Oil Co. Ltd.

Kenji Karube

Hiroshi Isa

Keisuke Wada

Takeru Onoda

Hideki Yamanouchi

Junichi Nakayama

Hironori Kageyama

A cobalt component is separated from a hydroesterification reaction mixture obtained by reacting a polyhydric alcohol with an olefin and carbon monoxide in the presence of a cobalt carbonyl complex and a pyridine base, by contacting (a) pyridine or .gamma.-picoline and (b) water with said reaction mixture containing the cobalt component and the product of a fatty acid ester of the polyhydric alcohol to separate it into two phases consisting of a phase containing the fatty acid ester of polyhydric alcohol and a phase containing a cobalt component. In the process, the weight ratio of pyridine or .gamma.-picoline to the product ester is 0.5 to 5 and the weight ratio of water to pyridine or .gamma.-picoline is 0.05 to 10.

Process for separating cobalt component from hydroesterification

Full esters of polyols selected from pentaerythritol and polypentaerythritols are continuously produced by (i) continuously introducing a solution of the polyols in pyridine bases, olefins having at least 4 carbon atoms in an amount of at least 0.4 equivalent per 1.0 equivalent of the hydroxyl group in the polyols, a catalyst containing cobalt carbonyls and pyridine bases, and carbon monoxide, into a reaction zone from one end thereof in such an amount of the pyridine bases as is within the range of from 40 to 70% by weight based on the total amount of the pyridine bases, the polyols and the olefins; (ii) introducing an additional amount of the olefins into at least one middle portion of the reaction zone, and; (iii) continuously withdrawing the resultant reaction mixture from the other end of the reaction zone.

Process for continuous production of full esters of polyols

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Toride, Japan

Kenji Karube