Ube Industries, Inc.

Yoshiki Kawamura

Toshiyuki Matsushita

Hirofumi Ii

Tomoyuki Itou

Hirofumi Li

Tomoyuki Ito

There is provided a process for preparing 1,6-hexanediol by esterifying a carboxylic acid mixture resulted from oxidation of cyclohexane with oxygen, and then hydrogenating the esters, which substantially does not contain a compound leading to a high ester value. A process for preparing 1,6-hexanediol from a carboxylic acid mixture containing adipic acid and 6-hydroxycaproic acid, the carboxylic acid mixture is obtained as a by-product in oxidization of cyclohexane to cyclohexanone/cyclohexanol using oxygen or an oxygen-containing gas, the process comprises esterifying the acids with an alcohol, followed by hydrogenation, and the process is characterized by comprising the following steps of:

High purity 1,6-hexanediol and process for preparing the same

A method is provided for producing highly pure 1,6-hexanediol in which the contents of impurities such as 1,4-cyclohexanediol, 1,5-hexanediol, 1,2-cyclohexanediol, 1,7-pentanediol, 1,5-pentanediol and high boiling point components are significantly reduced. The process contains the steps of (1) treating an aqueous extraction concentrate of a reaction mixture obtained by oxidation of cyclohexane with a lower alcohol to esterify monocarboxylic acids and dicarboxylic acids contained in the extract, and simultaneously removing and separating by distillation water, excess lower alcohols and carboxylic acid esters; (2) converting oligomer esters contained in the bottom liquid to carboxylic acid esters by depolymerizing the oligomer esters at a high temperature and high pressure in the presence of a lower alcohol and a catalyst; and (3) hydrogenating the carboxylic acid esters distilled off in step (1) and the carboxylic acid esters obtained in step (2) either respectively or collectively to convert to 1,6-hexanediol.

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Ube, Japan

Yoshiki Kawamura