The British Petroleum Company, P.l.c.

Bp Chemicals Limited

Michael T Barlow

David G Stewart

The invention relates to crystalline galloaluminosilicates having an X-ray diffraction pattern substantially the same as that of an MFI-zeolite and a composition in terms of mole ratios of oxides as follows:

Crystalline galloaluminosilicates, steam-modified crystalline

Unsaturated carboxylic acids and/or esters thereof are produced by reacting an aldehyde comprising formaldehyde or acetaldehyde with either a saturated carboxylic acid ester or anhydride in the vapor phase in the presence as catalyst of a high silica crystalline aluminosilicate zeolite in which the cation is H.sup.+ and/or a transition metal and/or a rare earth metal. In a modification of the process instead of formaldehyde there is used methanol/molecular oxygen and in the catalyst there is included either an oxidative or an oxidative/dehydrogenative component.

Process for the production of unsaturated carboxylic acids and/or esters

A process for the production of a product comprising ethanol which process comprises reacting at elevated temperature and pressure and in the liquid phase methanol with hydrogen and carbon monoxide in the presence of an inert, particulate solid comprising a high surface area form of silica, alumina, silica/alumina or carbon, a methanol soluble catalyst comprising either:

Process for the production of ethanol by the liquid phase

Ethanol and/or acetaldehyde are produced by reacting at elevated temperature and pressure methanol with synthesis gas in the presence of a catalyst comprising a metal complex in which the metal is a metal of Group VIII of the Periodic Table other than iron, palladium and platinum and the ligand is derived from cyclopentadiene or a substituted cyclopentadiene and a promoter which is an iodide or a bromide. Optionally there is also added as a co-promoter a compound of formula X(A) (B) (C) wherein X is nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony or bismuth and A, B and C are individually C.sub.1 to C.sub.20 monovalent hydrocarbyl groups which are free from aliphatic carbon-carbon unsaturation and are bound to the X atom by a carbon/X bond, or X is phosphorus, arsenic, antimony or bismuth and any two of A, B and C together form an organic divalent cyclic ring system bonded to the X atom, or X is nitrogen and all of A, B and C together form an organic trivalent cyclic ring system bonded to the X atom, e.g. triphenylphosphine.

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Byfleet, United Kingdom

Michael T Barlow