The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 19, 1981
Filed:
Dec. 12, 1979
Yoshinori Yoshida, Yokohama, JP;
Hiroshi Oka, Tokyo, JP;
Japan Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A process for producing simultaneously tetrahydrofuran and 1,4-butanediol in any desired proportion which comprises (a) reacting the acetic ester of 1,4-butanediol with a theoretical or smaller quantity, based on said acetic ester, of water (preferably 0.2-0.8 mole of water per mole of said acetic ester) in the presence of an acidic catalyst, (b) distilling, in the first distillation column, the reaction mixture to separate it into a distillate comprising tetrahydrofuran as major constituent and a bottom stream comprising as major constituent the acetic ester of 1,4-butanediol and (c) subjecting, in the second reaction-distillation column, at least a part of said bottom stream to a counter-current gas-liquid contact reaction with methanol, the quantity of said methanol being preferably 1-5 moles per mole of the acetate group of the acetic ester, in the presence of an acidic or basic catalyst and, simultaneously therewith, separating the reaction mixture into a bottom stream comprising 1,4-butanediol as major constituent and a distillate comprising methyl acetate as major constituent. By this process, methanol and catalyst can be economized to a great extent.