Basf Aktiengesellschaft

Wolfgang Sauer

Klaus Halbritter

Christian Dudeck

Karl Siegfried Brenner

Werner Fliege

Karl-Heinz Ross

Horst Zimmermann

Norbert Petri

Hans-Juergen Scheiper

Wolfgang Hoffmann

Rolf Hartmuth Fischer

Wolfgang Harder

Walter Himmele

Werner Aquila

Hans Diem

Horst Hartmann

Lothar Franz

Heinz Engelbach

Manfred Eggersdorfer

Gunter Lehmann

Bernd Meissner

Hans-Juergen Gosch

Klaus-Dieter Malsch

Rolf Lebkuecher

A process for the preparation of tetrahydrofuran or tetrahydrofuran and .gamma.-butyrolactone from the product of the hydrogenation of maleic acid, succinic acid, maleic anhydride, succinic anhydride and/or fumaric acid, by treating the crude hydrogenation product, without prior work-up, at from 100.degree. to 300.degree. C. with a protic acid, and isolating pure tetrahydrofuran and .gamma.-butyrolactone from the resultant reaction mixture by distillation.

Preparation of tetrahydrofuran and gamma-butyrolactone

Process for the preparation of 1,4-butanediol or tetrahydrofuran or both by the catalytic hydrogenation of maleic anhydride, succinic anhydride, maleic acid, succinic acid, fumaric acid, or the alkyl esters of these acids at temperatures of from 100.degree. C. to 350.degree. C. and pressures of from 50 bar to 350 bar over a catalyst containing cobalt as the active metal and one or both of the elements copper and phosphorus, if necessary in the presence of an aliphatic alcohol.

Preparation of 1,4-butanediol or tetrahydrofuran or both

Glyoxal is prepared by oxidizing glycol in the presence of a silver catalyst, with subsequent or partial condensation of glycol, glyoxal, glycol aldehyde, formaldehyde and/or water by treatment with water or aqueous glyoxal solution in fine dispersion, under specific conditions with regard to the temperature and dispersion of the treatment liquid. The glyoxal which can be prepared by the process of the invention is a wrinkle-resist agent, an assistant for increasing the tear strength and elasticity of fiber materials, a tanning agent, a photographic hardener and a valuable starting material for the production of synthetic resins, textile assistants, paper assistants and plastics.

Continuous preparation of glyoxal

A process for the continuous preparation of glyoxal by oxidation of ethylene glycol, in which the ethylene glycol, oxygen and an inert gas are passed, at from 450.degree. to 800.degree. C., over a catalyst consisting of one or more layers of copper crystals and one or more layers of silver crystals, the copper and silver crystals having a particle size of from 0.1 to 2.5 mm.

Preparation of glyoxal

A process for the continuous preparation of 3-alkyl-buten-1-als by oxidative dehydrogenation of 3-alkyl-buten-1-ols at from 320.degree. to 650.degree. C. with oxygen over a catalyst containing copper and/or silver, wherein, within one second after contact with the catalyst, the vaporous reaction mixture, which is at from 320.degree. to 650.degree. C., is brought into contact with a liquid comprising water and/or the condensed reaction mixture at from -20.degree. to 50.degree. C., and the 3-alkyl-buten-1-als are separated off from the resulting condensate.

Continuous preparation of 3-alkyl-buten-1-als

A process for the preparation of the sought-after scent 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-2,3-dihydrofuran-3-one, and novel intermediates for the preparation of this compound. 2,5-Dimethyl-4-hydroxy-2,3-dihydrofuran-3-one is prepared by first epoxidizing hex-3-ene-2,5-diol in the liquid phase with hydrogen peroxide to give the novel compound 3,4-epoxy-hexane-2,5-diol, which at 40.degree.-280.degree. C. is converted, by means of a catalytic amount of an acid, to the novel compound 2,5-dimethyl-3,4-dihydroxy-tetrahydro-furan. The latter is dehydrogenated by means of oxygen over a silver catalyst or copper catalyst to give the nove compound 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-tetrahydrofuran-3-one, which is oxidized by means of bismuth oxide, in concentrated acetic acid solution, to give the desired compound 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-2,3-dihydrofuran-3-one.

Preparation of 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-2,3-dihydrofuran-3-one

Diketones are prepared by oxidizing glycols in the presence of a silver catalyst and/or copper catalyst of a specific particle size, under specific temperature conditions and with a specific composition of the catalyst. The end products are starting materials for the preparation of dyes, drugs, plastics, scents, wrinkle-resist finishes and assistants for increasing the tear strength and resilience of fibrous materials, hardeners for use in the photographic industry, textile assistants for preventing shrinkage after washing, and paper assistants.

Preparation of diketones

Aromatic and araliphatic aldehydes are prepared by oxidizing corresponding alcohols with oxygen in the presence of a silver catalyst of a defined particle size, and under defined temperature conditions. The products are starting materials for the preparation of dyes, pesticides, plastics and scents.

Preparation of aromatic and araliphatic aldehydes

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Everberg, Belgium

Wolfgang Sauer