GB706599A - Improvements in the reaction of carbon monoxide with hydrogen to form alcohols - Google Patents

Abstract

A process for the production of alcohols, in particular isobutyl alcohol, by the reaction of carbon monoxide and hydrogen at temperatures of from about 300 DEG to 500 DEG C. and at pressures above about 50 atmospheres consists in using catalysts containing oxides of metals of the Group IV (a) of the periodic system which contain 0.5 to 10 per cent. of alkali and leading about 1,000 to 10,000 volumes (at normal conditions) of the mixture of gases into the reaction chamber per hour per volume of catalyst. Oxides of zirconium are especially suitable as catalysts and activating oxides of trivalent metals may be added thereto, e.g. oxides of indium, gallium, aluminium or trivalent chromium. Zirconium oxide together with indium oxide and potassium oxide is especially suitable and alkalies other than potassium oxide may be used, e.g. rubidium oxide. The catalysts are preferably prepared from aqueous solutions of salts of metals of Group IV (a) of the periodic system by precipitation with alkalis, e.g. potassium hydroxide, potassium carbonate or ammonia. The filtered and washed precipitate may contain sufficient alkali or this may be added, e.g. by allowing the dry catalyst to absorb the alkali from a solution or by evaporating an alkali solution into which the catalyst has been introduced. The catalysts may be heated in the presence of oxygen or hydrogen before use and carriers, e.g. alumina may be employed. In examples: A product containing methyl alcohol, isobutyl alcohol, alcohols of higher boiling point and other oxygen containing compounds is obtained by passing a mixture of carbon monoxide, hydrogen and nitrogen at elevated temperature and pressure through a copper lined reaction tube containing a catalyst obtained by mixing solutions of zirconium nitrate, indium nitrate and caustic soda in water and filtering, washing and drying the product (1); and in a similar process a catalyst obtained by precipitating litanium dioxide hydrate from an aqueous solution of potassium titanium oxalate with potassium hydroxide solution and washing and drying the product is employed.