Johnson Matthey Davy Technologies Limited

Davy Process Technology Limited

Simon Wayne Jackson

Michael William Marshall Tuck

David John Watson

Adam Armour Snaith

Michael A Wood

Robert Wild

Simon Peter Crabtree

James Andrew Banister

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 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

The present invention relates to a process for recovery of homogeneous metal hydride catalyst from a reactor stream as catalyst suitable for recycle to a reactor comprising the steps of: removing a stream from a reactor, said stream comprising the homogeneous metal hydride catalyst; contacting the stream with a solid acidic absorbent under process conditions which allow at least some of the metal to become bound to the absorbent; subjecting the metal bound to the absorbent, under process conditions which allow desorption of the metal, to a fluid stripping medium comprising hydrogen and solvent; and recovering the active metal hydride catalyst.

Process for recovering homogeneous metal hydride catalysts

A process for the purification of a crude liquid feed stream comprising 1,4-butanediol and a minor amount of 2-(4-hydroxybutoxy)-tetrahydrofuran and/or precursors thereof wherein the process comprises passing the crude feed in the presence of hydrogen in a reaction zone over a heterogeneous liquid tolerant copper catalyst in the liquid phase at hydrogenation conditions and recovering a purified stream of 1,4-butanediol having a lower amount of 2-(4-hydroxybutoxy)-tetrahydrofuran than the crude liquid feed stream.

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Durham, United Kingdom

Simon Wayne Jackson