Classifications

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  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07C—ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
  • C07C29/00—Preparation of compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to a carbon atom not belonging to a six-membered aromatic ring
  • C07C29/132—Preparation of compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to a carbon atom not belonging to a six-membered aromatic ring by reduction of an oxygen containing functional group
  • C07C29/136—Preparation of compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to a carbon atom not belonging to a six-membered aromatic ring by reduction of an oxygen containing functional group of >C=O containing groups, e.g. —COOH
  • C07C29/14—Preparation of compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to a carbon atom not belonging to a six-membered aromatic ring by reduction of an oxygen containing functional group of >C=O containing groups, e.g. —COOH of a —CHO group
  • C07C29/141—Preparation of compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to a carbon atom not belonging to a six-membered aromatic ring by reduction of an oxygen containing functional group of >C=O containing groups, e.g. —COOH of a —CHO group with hydrogen or hydrogen-containing gases
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
  • B01J23/00—Catalysts comprising metals or metal oxides or hydroxides, not provided for in group B01J21/00
  • B01J23/38—Catalysts comprising metals or metal oxides or hydroxides, not provided for in group B01J21/00 of noble metals
  • B01J23/40—Catalysts comprising metals or metal oxides or hydroxides, not provided for in group B01J21/00 of noble metals of the platinum group metals
  • B01J23/46—Ruthenium, rhodium, osmium or iridium
  • B01J23/462—Ruthenium
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
  • B01J23/00—Catalysts comprising metals or metal oxides or hydroxides, not provided for in group B01J21/00
  • B01J23/70—Catalysts comprising metals or metal oxides or hydroxides, not provided for in group B01J21/00 of the iron group metals or copper
  • B01J23/72—Copper
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07C—ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
  • C07C27/00—Processes involving the simultaneous production of more than one class of oxygen-containing compounds
  • C07C27/04—Processes involving the simultaneous production of more than one class of oxygen-containing compounds by reduction of oxygen-containing compounds
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07C—ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
  • C07C29/00—Preparation of compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to a carbon atom not belonging to a six-membered aromatic ring
  • C07C29/132—Preparation of compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to a carbon atom not belonging to a six-membered aromatic ring by reduction of an oxygen containing functional group
  • C07C29/136—Preparation of compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to a carbon atom not belonging to a six-membered aromatic ring by reduction of an oxygen containing functional group of >C=O containing groups, e.g. —COOH
  • C07C29/143—Preparation of compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to a carbon atom not belonging to a six-membered aromatic ring by reduction of an oxygen containing functional group of >C=O containing groups, e.g. —COOH of ketones
  • C07C29/145—Preparation of compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to a carbon atom not belonging to a six-membered aromatic ring by reduction of an oxygen containing functional group of >C=O containing groups, e.g. —COOH of ketones with hydrogen or hydrogen-containing gases
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07C—ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
  • C07C29/00—Preparation of compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to a carbon atom not belonging to a six-membered aromatic ring
  • C07C29/60—Preparation of compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to a carbon atom not belonging to a six-membered aromatic ring by elimination of -OH groups, e.g. by dehydration
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07C—ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
  • C07C29/00—Preparation of compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to a carbon atom not belonging to a six-membered aromatic ring
  • C07C29/74—Separation; Purification; Use of additives, e.g. for stabilisation
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07C—ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
  • C07C31/00—Saturated compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to acyclic carbon atoms
  • C07C31/18—Polyhydroxylic acyclic alcohols
  • C07C31/20—Dihydroxylic alcohols
  • C07C31/202—Ethylene glycol
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07C—ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
  • C07C31/00—Saturated compounds having hydroxy or O-metal groups bound to acyclic carbon atoms
  • C07C31/18—Polyhydroxylic acyclic alcohols
  • C07C31/20—Dihydroxylic alcohols
  • C07C31/205—1,3-Propanediol; 1,2-Propanediol
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07C—ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
  • C07C45/00—Preparation of compounds having >C = O groups bound only to carbon or hydrogen atoms; Preparation of chelates of such compounds
  • C07C45/51—Preparation of compounds having >C = O groups bound only to carbon or hydrogen atoms; Preparation of chelates of such compounds by pyrolysis, rearrangement or decomposition
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07C—ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
  • C07C47/00—Compounds having —CHO groups
  • C07C47/02—Saturated compounds having —CHO groups bound to acyclic carbon atoms or to hydrogen
  • C07C47/19—Saturated compounds having —CHO groups bound to acyclic carbon atoms or to hydrogen containing hydroxy groups
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
  • B01J2219/00—Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
  • B01J2219/00002—Chemical plants
  • B01J2219/00027—Process aspects
  • B01J2219/00033—Continuous processes
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
  • B01J2219/00—Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
  • B01J2219/00274—Sequential or parallel reactions; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making arrays; Chemical library technology
  • B01J2219/00277—Apparatus
  • B01J2219/00452—Means for the recovery of reactants or products
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
  • Y02P20/00—Technologies relating to chemical industry
  • Y02P20/10—Process efficiency
  • Y02P20/129—Energy recovery, e.g. by cogeneration, H2recovery or pressure recovery turbines
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
  • Y02P20/00—Technologies relating to chemical industry
  • Y02P20/50—Improvements relating to the production of bulk chemicals
  • Y02P20/52—Improvements relating to the production of bulk chemicals using catalysts, e.g. selective catalysts
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
  • Y02P20/00—Technologies relating to chemical industry
  • Y02P20/50—Improvements relating to the production of bulk chemicals
  • Y02P20/582—Recycling of unreacted starting or intermediate materials

Definitions

• the invention regards an improved hydrogenation process for catalytic hydrogenation of low molecular weight oxygenate compounds to its hydroxyl counterparts.
• the method is suitable for converting a Ci-C3-oxygenate composition obtained from ther- molytic fragmentation of a sugar composition.
• Ethylene glycol can be prepared by a variety of routes including from sugars, e.g. monosaccharides, disaccharides or syrups, via fermentation and hydrogenolysis processes, or by hydroformylation of formaldehyde.
• the fermentation route is a five-step process wherein glucose is fermented to ethanol and carbon dioxide, followed by conversion of ethanol to ethylene, ethylene to ethylene oxide and ethylene oxide to ethylene glycol.
• One disadvantage of this method is that per mole of glucose fermented, two moles of carbon dioxide are produced together with two moles of ethanol; this has the effect that a theoretical maximum 67% of the carbon present in the glucose can be transformed to ethanol.
• the hydrogenolysis route is a two-step process wherein glucose is reduced to sorbitol followed by hydrogenolysis of sorbitol to ethylene glycol, as illustrated by US 6,297,409 B1 and US 2008/0228014 A1 .
• Significant quantities of propylene glycol, compared to ethylene glycol, are formed via the hydrogenolysis process.
• the amount of catalyst used is significant and appears difficult to regenerate in order to reuse.
• the byproducts formed, in particular butanediols are difficult to separate from the desired product.
• the hydroformylation route is a two-step process wherein glycolaldehyde is prepared from formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and hydrogen, followed by hydrogenation of the glycolaldehyde to ethylene glycol, as illustrated in US 4,496,781 B1 . There appears to be several extraction steps present in order to separate formaldehyde from glycolaldehyde and proceed with the hydrogenation reaction.
• sugars may be subjected to thermolytic fragmentation to obtain a fragmentation product composition comprising oxygenate compounds such as glycolaldehyde (US 7,094,932 B2); the crude fragmentation product composition comprises Ci- C3 oxygenate compounds, including formaldehyde, glycolaldehyde, glyoxal, pyruvalde- hyde and acetol.
• oxygenate compounds such as glycolaldehyde (US 7,094,932 B2)
• the crude fragmentation product composition comprises Ci- C3 oxygenate compounds, including formaldehyde, glycolaldehyde, glyoxal, pyruvalde- hyde and acetol.
• the main product of this reaction is glycolaldehyde [US 7,094,932 B2]. Water is the solvent of the reaction.
• 4,496,781 B1 discloses a continuous flow hydrogenation at low pressure [500 psi (ca. 35 bar)], high temperature [160°C] with a ruthenium on carbon catalyst [Ru/C] in eth- ylene glycol and trace acetonitrile as solvent.
• EP 0 002 908 B1 discloses the variation in yield (conversion and selectivity) of the hy- drogenation of glycolaldehyde with the use of various catalysts in an aqueous solution at 1 10°C: Raney Nickel [100% conversion 49.4% selectivity], 10% Pd/C [62% conversion, 61 % selectivity] and 10% Pt/C [100% conversion, 73% selectivity].
• Raney Nickel 100% conversion 49.4% selectivity]
• 10% Pd/C 62% conversion, 61 % selectivity
• 10% Pt/C 100% conversion, 73% selectivity
• the choice of catalyst may affect the decomposition of glycolaldehyde when in the presence of the catalyst; US 5,210,337 B1 discloses the problem of glycolaldehyde 'unzipping' to form formaldehyde and consequently poisoning the hydrogenation catalyst. It is also possible that glycolaldehyde may self-condense or condense with another Ci- C3 oxygenate compound, also illustrated in US 5,210,337 B1. Accordingly, both the choice of catalyst and the stability of the glycol product may affect the degree of reduction of the glycolaldehyde. E.g. some catalysts may reduce the glycolaldehyde to etha- nol or ethane, i.e. over reduce the glycolaldehyde.
• a process for the preparation of a C1-C3 hydroxy compound comprising the steps of: a) Providing an oxygenate feed composition comprising a C1-C3 oxygenate compound in a total concentration of at least 20% by weight of oxygenate feed composition; and
• reaction zone comprising a heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst material in fluid communication with
• step c) feeding the oxygenate feed composition of step a) to the reactor inlet zone i) of step b) to obtain an initial total concentration of C1-C3 oxygenate compound of less than 20% by weight of reactor fluid in the reaction zone ii) of step b); and d) in the reaction zone ii) reacting the C1-C3 oxygenate compound with hydrogen in the presence of the catalyst material to obtain a C1-C3 hydroxy compound; and then
• an advantage of the process accord- ing to the invention is that the selectivity towards ethylene glycol is at least 80% (moles of ethylene glycol formed per mole C2 oxygenate (glycolaldehyde, glyoxal) converted), preferably at least 85, 88, 90, 91 , 92, 93, 94, 95, 96 or 97%, and the selectivity towards propylene glycol is at least 60% (moles of propylene glycol formed per mole C3 oxygenate (pyruvaldehyde, acetol) converted), preferably at least at least 65, 70, 75, 80%, 85, 88, 90, 91 , 92, 93, 94, 95, 96 or 97%.
• a selectivity of at least X% implicitly defines a range wherein the upper limit is a selectivity of 100%. Accordingly, a selectivity of ethylene glycol of at least 80% defines a range of from 80-100%, a selectivity of propylene glycol of at least 60% defines a range of from 60-100% and so forth. Additional advantages include enabling the use of the oxygenate containing product of thermolytic fragmentation of sugar compositions as feed for the preparation of the corresponding hydroxy compounds at high selectivity and high yield; utilizing non-toxic solvents and cheaper catalysts; reducing byproduct production; enabling purification on an industrial scale; and being successful even in the presence of additional compounds such as formaldehyde.
• the process according to the present invention has a total concentration of C1-C3 oxygenate compound in the oxygenate feed composition of at least 25% by weight of oxygenate feed composition, such as at least 30% or 35% or 40% or 45% or 50% or 55% or 60% or 65% or 70% or 75% by weight of oxygenate feed composition.
• the C1-C3 oxygenate compound of the oxygenate feed composition of step a) is a C2-C3 oxygenate compound.
• the oxygenate feed composition of step a) comprises two or more C1-C3 oxygenate compounds selected from the group consisting of gly- colaldehyde, glyoxal, pyruvaldehyde, acetol and formaldehyde. Even with several different oxygenate compounds in the C1-C3 oxygenate feed composition the selectivities obtained are still very high.
• the oxygenate feed composition of step a) comprises at least 20% by weight of glycolaldehyde and at least 5% by weight of pyruvaldehyde. Even with such high amounts of glycolaldehyde and in particular of pyruvaldehyde in the C1-C3 oxygenate feed composition the selectivities obtained are still very high.
• the total concentration by weight of C1-C3 hydroxy compound in the hydroxy product composition is at least 50% by weight of the total concentration of C1-C3 oxygenate compound in the oxygenate feed composition, such as at least 55% or 60% or 65% or 70% or 75% or 80% or 85% or 90% by weight of the total concentration of C1-C3 oxygenate compound in the oxygenate feed composition. Accordingly, the process according to the present invention allows to have a high concentration of C1-C3 oxygenate compound in the oxygenate feed composition, a low concentration of C1-C3 oxygenate compound in the reaction zone and still a high concentration of C1-C3 hydroxy compound in the hydroxy product composition.
• the C1-C3 hydroxy compound of the hydroxy product composition of step e) is a C2-C3 hydroxy compound.
• the hydroxy product composition of step e) comprises one or more C1-C3 hydroxy compounds selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethylene glycol and propylene glycol.
• the catalyst material of step b) may comprise a metal component selected from the group consisting of ruthenium, ruthenium alloy, rhenium, rhodium, iridium, palladium, platinum, copper and nickel and the support ma- terial may be one or more selected from the group consisting of carbon, silica, alumina, titania, and zirconia.
• Preferred catalyst materials comprises ruthenium on carbon or copper on carbon.
• Step d) of the process according to the present invention may be conducted under an initial hydrogen partial pressure of at least 0.5 bar, such as at least 5 bar or at least 40 bar, or between 0.5 and 500 bar or between 0.5 and 200 bar, in particular between 0.5 and 5 bar or between 60 and 140 bar.
• the reaction of step d) may be conducted under a total pressure of from 0.8-800 bar, such as from 3-500, in particular between 3 and 10 bar or between 40 and 150 bar.
• the reaction of step d) may be conducted at a temperature in the range of from 50-350°C, such as from 50-250°C, 60-120 °C, 200-250 °C or from 150-200°C.
• the process according to the present invention may be conducted under conditions to provide liquid phase hydrogenation of the oxygenate compound and with a solvent present in the reaction zone of step d).
• the inventors have observed challenges in obtaining good selectivities towards ethylene glycol and propylene glycol in catalytic liquid phase hydrogenation of glycolaldehyde and pyruvaldehyde.
• reaction conditions of the process according to the present invention may be cho- sen so that the C1-C3 oxygenate compounds and the C1-C3 hydroxy compounds are essentially in the liquid phase or in the gas phase during the hydrogenation reaction.
• the hydrogenation is a liquid phase hydrogenation
• the hydrogenation is preferably conducted at a temperature in the range of from 60-120°C and a hydrogen partial pressure in the range of from 60-140 bar.
• the partial pressure of hydrogen is the partial pressure in the gas phase above, or interspersed with, the hydrogenation fluid, which is proportional to the concentration of hydrogen in the liquid phase.
• the hydrogenation is a gas phase hydrogenation
• the hydrogenation is preferably conducted at a temperature in the range of from 200-250°C and a hydrogen partial pressure in the range of from 0.5 and 5 bar.
• the solvent is selected from the group consisting of water, methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol and propylene glycol; or mixtures thereof.
• the chemical reactor comprises an inlet and an outlet to accommodate continuous operation of the process.
• the hydrogenation may be conducted in a plug flow, or primarily plug flow, type reactor such as a packed bed reactor, a fixed bed reactor, a trickle bed reactor, a fluid bed reactor or a slurry phase reactor.
• a fraction of the hydroxy product com- position recovered in step e) may advantageously be transferred to the reaction zone ii) of step b).
• This recirculation of product to the reactor is a highly advantageous way of lowering the oxygenate concentration in the reaction zone.
• reactors having means to control the temperature rise in the hydrogenation reactors are desirable to choose reactors having means to control the temperature rise in the hydrogenation reactors.
• Some reactors suitable for heat removal could be, but is not limited to, multitubular reactors, reactors having cooling between the different catalyst layers (interbed cooling) or recycle reactors.
• an industrially promising reactor approach could be a so called trickle bed reactor, where liquid flows downward over the catalyst bed, and gas is added in either co-current or counter-current flow.
• a recycle can be used to control the temperature increase in the reactor.
• the recycle will serve to dilute the reactants.
• slurry-bed reactor ebullating bed
• hydrogen is fed from the bottom and 'bubbles' through the substrate liquid containing the suspended catalyst.
• a submerged cooling coil in the slurry bed can be used to control the temperature. Due to in-bed temperature control and higher degree of back-mixing, a smaller (or no) recycle is required in the slurry-bed compared to the trickle bed reactor. Comparing the chemical reactor performance of the trickle bed and slurry reactor, the first will provide a higher degree of plug flow and the second reactor a higher degree of isothermal conditions.
• the hydrogenation product composition of d) may be subjected to a purification step, such as distillation, filtration, adsorption and/or ion exchange to recover the hydroxyl compounds. Unreacted hydrogen recovered in the purification step, may be recycled to the reaction zone ii) of step b).
• a purification step such as distillation, filtration, adsorption and/or ion exchange to recover the hydroxyl compounds.
• Unreacted hydrogen recovered in the purification step may be recycled to the reaction zone ii) of step b).
• the oxygenate feed composition of step a) may be derived from a thermolytic fragmentation of a sugar composition.
• a process for the preparation of a C1-C3 hydroxy compound from a sugar composition comprising the steps of:
• ii Exposing the feedstock of a) to thermolytic fragmentation to produce a fragmentation product composition comprising a C1-C3 oxygenate compound; and iii. Optionally conditioning the fragmentation product composition; and then iv. Subjecting the fragmentation product composition of step ii) or iii) to the hydrogenation process according to the present invention, wherein the fragmentation product composition is the oxygenate feed composition of step a) of the hydrogenation process according to the present invention.
• the optional conditioning of step iii) may comprise a distillation, filtration, adsorption and/or ion exchange to remove impurities prior to the hydrogenation.
• the sugar composition of the feedstock solution for thermolytic fragmentation may be selected from one or more of the monosaccharides fructose, xylose, glucose, man- nose, galactose arabinose; the disaccharides sucrose, lactose, maltose or from syrups such as corn syrup, cane sugar syrup or whey.
• the feedstock solution of step i) is generally a solution of a sugar in a solvent comprising from 20-95 wt.%, such as from 50- 90 wt% of sugar.
• the solvent may comprise one or more of the compounds selected from the group consisting of water, methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol and propylene glycol. It is an advantage in the fragmentation step to use solvents comprising alcohols, since the evaporation energy is lower than water.
• C1-C3 hydroxy products such as ethylene glycol and propylene glycol obtained from bio materials, such as sugars, will have a significantly higher content of 14 C than the same products obtained from petrochemical sources.
• a product is provided according to the present invention, which is obtainable by the process for the preparation of a C1-C3 hydroxy compound from a sugar composition described above.
• Such a product is characteristic by having a 14 C content above 0.5 parts per trillion of the total carbon content.
• the C1-C3 hydroxy compound may be ethylene glycol and at least 70% of the initial carbon may be recovered in the form of ethylene glycol or propylene glycol.
• a product which is obtainable by the process according to the present invention, which is characterized in that the product has a 14 C content above 0.5 parts per trillion (weight by weight) of the total carbon content; and in that at least 70% of the initial carbon is recovered in the form of ethylene glycol or propylene glycol in the hydrogenation product composition.
• the C1-C3 hydroxy compound prepared according to the invention such as ethylene glycol or propylene glycol, may be used for the preparation of a polymer, such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyester resins, fibres or films.
• the polymer will have a 14 C content reflecting the fraction of monomers which have been obtained from biomateri- als.
• the C1-C3 hydroxy compound prepared according to the invention such as ethylene glycol or propylene glycol, may also be used as a de-icing agent, coolant, anti-freeze agent or solvent.
• a system for continuously performing the process disclosed herein comprising a hydrogenation unit, such as a multi-tubular reactor, having an inlet and an outlet and a hydrogenation catalyst as defined herein, and a thermolytic fragmentation unit having an inlet and outlet, wherein the outlet of said thermolytic fragmentation unit is fluidly connected to the inlet of said hydrogenation unit.
• the outlet of said thermolytic fragmentation unit is directly, fluidly connected to the inlet of said hydrogenation unit.
• the fragmentation unit comprises a fragmentation reactor comprising a suitable inlet for the feedstock and an outlet for a fragmentation product composition (stream).
• the hydrogenation unit comprises a chemical reactor comprising suitable inlets for the oxy- genate feed composition and hydrogen and outlets for a hydroxy product composition (stream) and excess hydrogen.
• the outlet of the fragmentation unit is directly, fluidly connected with the inlet of the hydrogenation unit by means of piping equipment suitable for conveying high temperature gases and liquids.
• "Directly" is intended to refer to a transfer from the fragmentation unit to the hydrogenation unit which is not interrupted by significant delays nor by purification. However, it may be condensed to accommodate liquid hydrogenation.
• An advantage of the direct transfer of fragmentation product to hydrogenation unit is that the heat remaining in the frag- mentation product may be retained and if the hydrogenation is a gas phase hydrogenation a step of evaporating the feed may be dispensed with, since it is already in the gas phase.
• the system further has a hy- drogen recycle from the outlet of the hydrogenation unit to the inlet or the hydrogen inlet of the hydrogenation unit. Accordingly, excess hydrogen may be recycled to the hydrogenation unit thus improving cost efficiency.
• the recycle may be connected with the hydrogen inlet or may be recycled directly into the chemical reactor.
• FIG. 1 C3 C6 ratio plotted as a function of initial pyruvaldehyde concentration (40 mg of Ru/C added as catalyst).
• C3 comprises acetol and propylene glycol and
• C6 comprises all C6 byproducts formed by aldol condensation of pyruvaldehyde.
• oxygenate feed composition is meant to refer to the oxygenate containing fluid passing through the inlet of the reactor used for conducting the hydrogenation.
• oxygenate composition may in addition to the C1-C3 oxygenate compounds, contain other compounds e.g. organic acids such as acetic acid, formic acid, glycolic acid and/or lactic acid; furans such as furfural and/or 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural; and solvents such as water.
• C1-C3 oxygenate compound is meant to refer to an organic compound containing between 1 and 3 carbon atoms and at least one carbonyl bond (ketone or aldehyde).
• oxygenate feed composition comprising a C1-C3 oxygenate compound is meant to refer to an oxygenate feed composition comprising one or more C1-C3 oxygenate compounds. It may also comprise minor amounts of other organic compounds.
• a "gas phase hydrogenation” is meant to refer to a hydrogena- tion wherein the substrate (here the C1-C3 oxygenate compound) is essentially in a gaseous form in the reaction zone of the catalytic material.
• the substrate here the C1-C3 oxygenate compound
• the substrate here the C1-C3 oxygenate compound
• the substrate here the C1-C3 oxygenate compound
• the substrate here the C1-C3 oxygenate compound
• a "liquid phase hydrogenation” is meant to refer to a hydrogenation wherein the substrate (here the C1-C3 oxygenate compound) is essentially in liquid solution in the reaction zone of the catalytic material.
• the substrate here the C1-C3 oxygenate compound
• the substrate here the C1-C3 oxygenate compound
• the substrate here the C1-C3 oxygenate compound
• the substrate here the C1-C3 oxygenate compound
• the substrate here the C1-C3 oxygenate compound
• reaction zone is meant to refer to the area around the catalyst wherein the oxygenate feed composition is brought into contact with the hydrogenation catalyst.
• the reaction zone may be defined by the walls of the chemical reactor.
• the reaction zone may be defined by the reactor walls and the inlet and the outlet.
• liquid hydrogenation the reaction zone is the liquid reactor fluid.
• gaseous hydrogenation the reaction zone is defined by the reactor walls and if inlet and outlet is present, by the end of the inlet and the beginning of the outlet.
• hydrogenation product composition is meant to refer to the hydroxy containing fluid resulting from the hydrogenation reaction.
• the hydrogenation product composition When the hydrogenation product composition is obtained from hydrogenating the fragmentation product of a thermolytic fragmentation of a sugar composition, it may in addition to the C1-C3 hydroxy compounds, contain other compounds e.g. organic acids such as acetic acid, formic acid, glycolic acid and/or lactic acid; furans such as furfural and/or 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural; and solvents such as water. Concentrations given in percentages are to be understood as weight% (i.e. weight of x per total weight), where nothing else is stated.
• C1-C3 hydroxy compound is meant to refer to an organic compound which contains between 1 and 3 carbon atoms and at least one hy- droxyl group (alcohol) and which may be produced by hydrogenation of a C1-C3 oxygenate compound.
• hydrolysis product composition comprising a C1-C3 hydroxy compound
• hydrogenation product composition comprising one or more C1-C3 hydroxy compounds.
• catalytic material is to be understood as any material which is catalytically active. This is also the meaning of the term “catalyst”. All terms may be used interchangeably.
• Cu on carbon and "Cu/C” are meant to refer to a catalytically active material having a support of carbon (such as activated carbon/carbon nanotubes/gra- phene/fullerenes) with copper particles deposited on the support.
• a support of carbon such as activated carbon/carbon nanotubes/gra- phene/fullerenes
• copper particles deposited on the support.
• it is mainly the surface of the Cu particles which provide the catalytic activity. Accordingly, a large Cu particle surface area is desirable.
• Recovery is meant to refer either to collecting the hydrogenation product composition or to directing the hydrogenation product composition to a subsequent step, such as to a purification unit.
• yield is in the present context meant to refer to the molar fraction of C1-C3 oxygenate compound which is converted into its corresponding C1-C3 hydroxy compound (i.e. Ci to Ci ; C2 to C2; and C3 to C3).
• conversion is in the present context meant to refer to the molar fraction of C1-C3 oxygenate compound which has reacted during the hydrogenation process to form either the desired C1-C3 hydroxy compound or other products.
• selectivity is meant to refer to the molar fraction of desired product formed per substrate converted.
• the substrate for a Ci hydroxy compound is only considered to be the Ci oxygenate compounds present in the oxygenate feed composition; for a C2 hydroxy compound the substrate is only considered to be the C2 oxygenate compounds present in the oxygenate feed composition; and for a C3 hydroxy compound the substrate is only considered to be the C3 oxygenate compounds present in the oxygenate feed composition.
• the selectivity may be calculated as yield divided by conversion.
• initial hydrogen partial pressure/oxygenate molar fraction/oxygenate con- centration etc.
• continuous conditions is meant to refer to truly continuous conditions (such as in a fluid bed reactor or packed bed reactor, optionally with recycle of the hydro- genation product composition to the feed stream or to the reactor inlet) but it is also meant to refer to semi-continuous conditions such as repeatedly feeding small portions of the oxygenate feed composition to the reactor fluid and repeatedly collecting small portions of the hydroxy product composition from the reactor outlet.
• reactor fluid is meant to refer to the fluid present in the reaction zone, including both unreacted oxygenate compounds, the hydroxy compounds formed and any solvent or diluent present.
• the experiment was performed in an autoclave. 3.1 g C1-C3 oxygenate feed composition was fed to the autoclave.
• the concentration of C1-C3 oxygenates in the C1-C3 oxy- genate feed composition varied according to Table 1 below.
• the Ci oxygenates present in the C1-C3 oxygenate feed composition were mainly formaldehyde (FA).
• the C2 oxygenates present in the C1-C3 oxygenate feed composition were mainly glycolaldehyde (GA) and glyoxal.
• the C3 oxygenates present in the C1-C3 oxygenate feed composition were mainly pyruvaldehyde (PA) and acetol.
• the initial glycolalde- hyde (GA) concentration ranged from 16 g/l to 264 g/l.
• the C1-C3 oxygenate feed composition was hydrogenated for 16 hours at 80 °C and 90 bar H2 with 0.040 g of 5% Ru/C catalyst.
• the catalyst amount was kept constant in all experiments meaning that the relative amount of catalyst compared to substrate increased with decreasing oxygenate concentration.
• the hydrogenation product composition was recovered and the content of ethylene glycol (EG) and propylene glycol (PG) was determined using standard methods.
• the yield of EG was calculated as moles of EG formed per mole of glycolaldehyde and glyoxal in the feed composition.
• the yield of PG was calculated as moles of PG formed per mole of pyruvaldehyde and acetol in the feed composition.
• Table 1 presents an overview of the results. Full conversion of GA was obtained at GA concentrations up to 129 g/l (entry 1 -4). From these experiments it can be seen that the yield of ethylene glycol (EG) decreased with increasing oxygenate concentration. The higher GA concentrations of 196 g/l and 264 g/l did not reach full conversion after 16 hours (entry 5 and 6), the drop in EG selectivity was seen to continue to 82% and 74%, respectively. The trend observed with respect to EG yield was similar for the PG yield.
• Example 2 continuous process A continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) setup was used to perform the hydrogena- tion of an oxygenate mixture.
• the CSTR consisted of a 500 ml autoclave, with the possibility of feeding liquid and gas to the reactor, as well as withdrawing reaction liquid and gas from the reactor.
• the hydrogenation was performed by loading 20 g of a 5 wt.% Ru/C catalyst in a Robinson-Mahoney catalyst basket, which was mounted in the autoclave.
• the autoclave was then filled with 300 ml of water, sealed, and flushed with nitrogen.
• the reactor was pressurized to 80 bar, using hydrogen, and the temperature increased to 90°C.
• Hydrogen was supplied to the reactor at a rate of 80 Nml/min, while gas was withdrawn from the reactor at a rate sufficient to keep the pressure constant.
• An oxygenate feed with the composition given in Table 2 was fed to the reactor at a rate of 0.1 g/min, while liquid product was withdrawn at the same rate to give a constant amount of reaction liquid in the reactor. Due to the vigorous stirring of the reactor, the feed being supplied to the reactor was almost immediately completely mixed with the liquid in the reactor upon entering the reactor, essentially diluting the feed with the product composition.
• the content of ethylene glycol (EG) and propylene glycol (PG) in the recovered hydrogenation product composition was determined using standard methods. A yield of EG of 85% was achieved. A yield of PG of 70% was achieved.

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