Oxo-reaction . Oxo-reaction is the generic or general name given to a process in which an unsaturated hydrocarbon reacts with carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2) to form oxygenated compounds, such as aldehydes and alcohols .
Summary
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- 1 Production of oxo-alcohols
- 2 Temperature
- 3 Products
- 4 Sources
Production of oxo-alcohols
In a typical process for the production of oxo-alcohols, the feed comprises a stream of olefin, carbon monoxide and hydrogen . In a first stage, the olefin reacts with CO and H2 in the presence of a catalyst (often cobalt) to produce an aldehyde that has one more carbon atom than the original olefin:
Temperature
This stage is exothermic and requires auxiliary equipment to carry out the cooling. The crude aldehyde leaving the oxo-reactor is increased in temperature in order to convert the entrained catalyst into a form that allows its easy separation from the reaction products. Subsequent treatment also breaks down unwanted products. The crude aldehyde is then hydrogenated in the presence of a catalyst (usually nickel ) to form the desired alcohol. The crude alcohol is then purified on a fractionation column. Along with purified alcohol some by-products come out that include a stream composed of hydrocarbonslight and heavy oil. The hydrogenation step takes place at a temperature of 150 ºC and a pressure of around 1470 lb / in2 (10.13 Mpa). The olefin conversion is usually close to 95%.
products
Important products manufactured in this way include substituted propionaldehyde which is formed from oxo-reaction with substituted ethylene; isobutyraldehyde and n-butyraldehyde from propylene; isooctyl alcohol from septene; and trimethylhexanol from di-isobutylene.
