Johnson Matthey Davy Technologies Limited

Davy Process Technology Limited

Basf Aktiengesellschaft

Michael William Marshall Tuck

David John Watson

Michael A Wood

Simon Wayne Jackson

Adam Armour Snaith

Stephen William Colley

Simon Nicholas Tilley

Robert Gallen

Christopher Richard Fawcett

Andrew George Hiles

Robert Wild

Colin Rathmell

Ian Campbell

Mohammad Sharif

Stephen Carrett

Simon N Davy Process Technology Ltd Tilley

Michael Anthony Wood

The present invention is directed to a process for the purification of ethylene glycol from a crude stream thereof. The process comprises passing the stream of crude ethylene glycol to a first distillation column in which light compounds within the crude stream are separated overhead and a lights-removed crude ethylene glycol stream is removed from at or near the bottom of the first distillation column; passing the lights-removed crude ethylene glycol stream removed from at or near the bottom of the first distillation column to a second distillation column in which purified ethylene glycol is separated and recovered from heavy components present in the lights-removed crude ethylene glycol stream; removing a stream from at or near the bottom of the second distillation column which comprises residual ethylene glycol together with diethylene glycol and heavy compounds and passing said stream to a third distillation column in which the heavy compounds are separated from the stream comprising ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol; and removing the stream comprising ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol from the third distillation column and passing said stream to a fourth distillation column in which the ethylene glycol is separated from the diethylene glycol.

Process for the purification of ethylene glycol

A process for purification of a crude product stream recovered from the production of an unsaturated carboxylic acid by an aldolization reaction is disclosed. The product stream comprises the unsaturated carboxylic acid, aldehyde, saturated carboxylic acid, water, non-condensable vapours and optionally heavy by-products. The process comprises: providing the crude product stream in the vapour phase to a first separation column operated at a temperature and pressure to form an intermediate product stream comprising product unsaturated carboxylic acid, a portion of the water from the feed stream, a portion of the saturated carboxylic acid and heavy by-products where present; and passing the intermediate product stream to a second separation column operated at a temperature and pressure such that the unsaturated carboxylic acid product is separated and recovered.

Process for the purification of an unsaturated carboxylic acid

A process for purification of a crude product stream recovered from the production of acrylic acid by an aldolisation reaction is disclosed. The product stream comprises acrylic acid, formaldehyde, water, non-condensable vapours and optionally heavy by-products. The process comprises: providing the crude product stream in the vapour phase to a first separation column operated at a temperature and pressure to form an intermediate overhead stream comprising water, formaldehyde and methanol; and passing said intermediate overhead stream to a formaldehyde separation column operated at a temperature and pressure to enable a stream having a higher formaldehyde concentration than the formaldehyde concentration in the intermediate overhead stream to be formed and recovered from at or near the bottom of the formaldehyde separation column as a formaldehyde enriched stream.

Process for the separation of formaldehyde from crude acrylic acid

A process for recovering product dialkyl succinate, dialkyl maleate or dialkyl succinate and dialkyl maleate from an overhead stream from an esterification reaction column, said overhead stream comprising as a major component alkanol and water and as a minor component the product dialkyl succinate, dialkyl maleate or dialkyl succinate and dialkyl maleate which forms an azeotrope with the water, wherein said process comprises washing the overhead stream with butanol.

Process for the recovery of dialkyl succinate or dialkyl maleate

A catalyst system for a liquid phase carbonylation reaction comprising a homogeneous acid catalyst component and a porous solid component, in particular for use in the formation of glycolic acid by carbonylation of formaldehyde. The homogeneous acid catalyst component is, for instance, sulphuric acid while the solid component can be unfunctionalized silica. A process for the carbonylation of an aldehyde to form a carboxylic' acid or derivative thereof is also described. The process comprises the steps of contacting the catalyst with carbon monoxide, water and the aldehyde.

Carbonylation process and catalyst system therefor

A process for the production of glycolic acid or derivatives thereof from formaldehyde comprising reacting formaldehyde with carbon monoxide and water in the presence of a silica catalyst, wherein from about 200 to about 5000 ppm of an alkyl silyl sulfonic acid is supplied to the reaction.

Process for the production of glycolic acid

A process for the removal of hydroxypropane from a crude product stream from the hydrogenation of glycerol, the crude product stream comprising 1,2-propanediol and hydroxypropanone as impurity, the process comprising: (a) where required condensing the crude product stream; and (b) contacting the crude product phase in the liquid phase with a stream of a hydrogen-containing gas in the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst at suitable temperatures and pressures such that hydroxypropanone present in the crude product stream is converted to the desired propanediol.

Process for the production of 1,2-propanediol

A process for the production of propylene glycol by reaction of a feed material comprises glycerol in the presence of hydrogen which comprising the steps of: (a) supplying a stream comprising the feed material to a first vaporisation zone and contacting said feed with cycle gas comprising hydrogen such that at least a portion of the feed is vaporised by and into the cycle gas; (b) supplying at least a portion of the cycle gas and the vaporised feed material to a first reaction zone comprising catalyst and operating under reaction conditions to allow hydrogenation and dehydration to occur such that a major part of the glycerol is converted; (c) recovering from the first reaction zone an intermediate product stream comprising cycle gas, minor amounts of unconverted glycerol, and desired product(s); (d) supplying the intermediate product stream from the preceding reaction zone to a final vaporisation zone and contacting it with additional feed material such that an amount of glycerol, approximately equivalent to that vaporised in the preceding vaporisation zone, is vaporised by and into the intermediate product stream; (e) supplying the stream from step (d) to a final reaction zone comprising catalyst and operating under reaction conditions to allow hydrogenation and dehydration to occur such that a major part of the glycerol is converted; and (f) recovering from the final reaction zone a final product stream comprising cycle gas, minor amounts of unconverted feed glycerol and the desired product(s).

Process for the hydrogenation of glycerol to propylene glycol

A process is described for the recovery of substantially pure ethyl acetate from a feedstock including ethyl acetate, ethanol and water. The process includes supplying the feedstock to a first distillation zone maintained under first distillation conditions effective for distilling from the feedstock a first distillate including ethyl acetate, ethanol, and less than about 10 mol % water. The first distillate is recovered from the first distillation zone and is supplied to a second distillation zone maintained under second distillation conditions, which include use of a higher pressure than that of the first distillation zone. The second distillation conditions are effective for distilling from the first distillate a second distillate including ethanol, water, and a minor proportion of ethyl acetate and yielding a substantially pure ethyl acetate bottom product, which is recovered. The second distillate is returned to the first distillation zone.

Process

A process for hydrogenation of glycerol in which a feed comprising glycerol is contacted with a stream of a hydrogen-containing gas and subjected to hydrogenation in the vapour phase in the presence of a catalyst at a temperature of from about 160&#xb0; C. to about 260&#xb0; C., a pressure of from about 10 to about 30 bar, a hydrogen to glycerol ratio of from 400:1 to about 600:1 and a residence time of from about 0.01 to about 2.5 secs.

Ethanol is dehydrogenated in the presence of hydrogen over a dehydrogenation catalyst, for example, a copper on silica catalyst. The liquefiable products present in the resulting intermediate reaction product mixture are selectively hydrogenated over a suitable catalyst, such as 5% ruthenium on carbon, so as selectively to hydrogenate reactive carbonyl-containing by-products to the corresponding alcohols. Butan-2-one and n-butyraldehyde are thereby hydrogenated to 2-butanol and n-butanol respectively. A two stage distillation procedure is then used to purify the selectively hydrogenated product. A first distillate of ethyl acetate, ethanol and water produced in the first distillation zone is redistilled in the second distillation zone, thereby producing a bottom product comprising, typically, from about 99.8 mol % to about 99.95 mol % ethyl acetate and an overhead second distillate, which has a different composition from that produced in the first distillation zone and which is returned to the first distillation zone.

Process for the preparation of ethyl acetate

A process for the production of at least one C,compound selected from 1,4-butanediol, gamma-butyrolactone and tetrahydrofuran, in which a solution of maleic anhydride in a high boiling ester is esterified with a C,to C,alcohol to form the corresponding maleate ester which is hydrogenated to form the at least one C,compound. The specified high boiling ester has a boiling point which is about 30 degrees C. higher than that of the di-(C,-C,alkyl)maleate.

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London, United Kingdom

Michael William Marshall Tuck