GB999461A - Improvements in and relating to the production of alcohols - Google Patents

Abstract

Ruthenium carbonyl may be produced by heating a solution of a ruthernium salt of a monocarboxylic acid (e.g. stearic) in an inert organic solvent, e.g. a hydrocarbon to 200 DEG C. under a mixture of equal volumes of hydrogen and carbon monoxide at 240 ats., and then under the same conditions of temperature and pressure, with carbon monoxide alone. The precipitate formed is filtered under a nitrogen atmosphere, and the filtrate is concentrated to the desired bulk under a carbon monoxide atmosphere.ALSO:Alcohols are made from olefines by a process which comprises bringing a straight or branched chain aliphatic mono-olefin containing at most 10 carbon atoms and preferably at most 4 carbon atoms, carbon monoxide, water and a base compound, defined as a compound of one of the elements of Group Vb of the Periodic Table, for example nitrogen or phosphorus, each of which is in the trivalent form and each valency of which is attached to a carbon atom, into contact at elevated temperature and pressure with ruthenium carbonyl. It is preferable that the ruthenium carbonyl is produced in situ from a ruthenium salt of an aliphatic monocarboxylic acid. The preferred basic compound is trimethylamine. The process may be carried out in the presence of an inert organic solvent such as a hydrocarbon or an alcohol containing up to 4 carbon atoms. Examples of other suitable bases include N-n-butylpyrrolidine and tri-n-butylphosphine. In Example 1 a solution of ruthenium stearate in a petrol is heated under pressure of a mixture of equal volumes of hydrogen and carbon monoxide and thereafter under a pressure of carbon monoxide only. The product is filtered under a nitrogen blanket and the precipitate is washed with petrol. The filtrate and washings are bulked and the liquid is evaporated under a carbon monoxide atmosphere. To this solution there are added trimethylamine, water and methanol, together with propylene and the reaction mixture is heated under a pressure of carbon monoxide. From the reaction product n-butanol and isobutanol are obtained. In another example ruthenium stearate, trimethylamine, water, methanol and propylene are heated together at elevated temperature under pressure of carbon monoxide. From the reaction product n-butanol and isobutanol are isolated. In other examples ruthenium carbonyl as such is used as the catalyst and the bases employed are trimethylamine n-n-butylpyrrolidine and tri-n-butylphosphine.