Low Pressure Koch Reaction by Cu(CO)_n⁺-H₂SO₄-H₃PO₄-H₂O Catalyst (Part 2)

The Recycling of Cu(CO)_n⁺-H₂SO₄-H₃PO₄-H₂O Catalyst in Producing Branched tert-Tridecanoic Acids from Branched

Abstract

The recycling of Cu(CO)_n⁺-H₂SO₄-H₃PO₄-H₂O catalyst was studied in low pressure Koch reaction of branched dodecenes, which resulted in finding a new index, accompanied sulfuric acid ratio [(1/2)H₂SO₄/RCOOH], to estimate the acid strength H₀ of the catalyst. In order to maintain the initial catalyst activity, water fed into the catalyst was controlled by checking the accumulated organic compounds in the catalyst layer. Catalyst deactivation was suppressed by double extraction of the products from the reaction mixture. Catalyst could be recycled 100 consecutive times at 15°C under the CO pressure of 1.6MPa and the unit catalyst consumption was reduced to less than 0.05kg-catalyst/kg-tert-tridecanoic acids. In this way, the technology for producing pure tert-tridecanoic acids at a low cost was established.