Dow Technology Investments LLC

Victoria L Biedenstein

Glenn A Miller

Michael C Becker

Martin Smidt

David Welch

Atul Manilal Shah

James D Duston

Steven H Fisher

The present invention relates generally to hydroformylation processes. In one embodiment, a process of the present invention comprises: (a) contacting CO, H, and at least one olefin under hydroformylation conditions sufficient to form at least one aldehyde product in the presence of a hydroformylation catalyst; (b) removing a product-containing liquid from the reaction zone and sending it to a vaporizer, which comprises a vaporizing zone and a vapor/liquid separation zone, wherein the product-containing liquid, which comprises crude product and catalyst, is heated in the vaporizing zone to form a mixture of gas and catalyst-containing liquid, which mixture is then phase separated in the separation zone, which separation zone has a liquid withdrawal port, a liquid region, a vapor space and a gas-liquid interface, wherein the liquid region comprises at least one divider plate, which optionally contains at least one perforation, wherein at least a portion of at least one divider plate is in proximity to the gas-liquid interface, with the proviso that at least a portion of at least one divider plate is at or below the interface, and wherein the temperature of the catalyst-containing liquid, measured at the liquid withdrawal port, is lower than the temperature of the vapor space.

Hydroformylation process

Disclosed is an improved exothermic hydroformylation process having at least two reaction stages. Cooling is provided by externally cooling a stream of reaction mixture from one of the stages, dividing the cooled stream into at least two cooled reaction mixture streams; transferring one cooled reaction mixture stream back into the same reaction stage from which it was removed to cool the reaction mixture in that reaction stage; and transferring at least one cooled reaction mixture stream(s) into and through heat exchange means that cool a different reaction stage, and returning it to the same reaction stage from which it was removed.

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Eden Prairie, MN, United States of America

Victoria L Biedenstein