Process for the preparation of ethylene glycol from sugars

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10077222-B2
Application number	US-201515322680-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 29, 2015
Priority date	Jun 30, 2014
Publication date	Sep 18, 2018
Grant date	Sep 18, 2018

Abstract

A process for the preparation of ethylene glycol comprising the steps of pyrolyzing a monosaccharide and hydrogenating the product composition in the presence of a catalyst and a solvent, wherein the pressure of the hydrogenation reaction is 40 bar or greater.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process for the preparation of ethylene glycol comprising the steps of:
a. pyrolysing a sugar to obtain a pyrolysis product composition comprising formaldehyde; and
b. hydrogenating the pyrolysis product composition in the presence of a catalyst and a solvent,
wherein hydrogenation pressure of the reaction of step b. is 40 bar or greater.

2. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the product of hydrogenation reaction is purified.

3. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the sugar comprises one or more sugars selected from the group consisting of glucose, sucrose, fructose, xylose, mannose, arabinose and galactose.

4. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the solvent is selected from the group consisting of water, alcohol and water and alcohol.

5. A process according to claim 4 , wherein the alcohol is selected from one or more of the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol and propylene glycol.

6. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the pyrolysis product composition comprises one or more C 2-3 oxygenate compounds selected from the group consisting of glycolaldehyde, glyoxal, pyruvaldehyde and acetol.

7. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the catalyst comprises a metal component selected from the group consisting of ruthenium, ruthenium alloy, palladium, platinum and nickel.

8. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the catalyst metal component is present in a ratio of formaldehyde:catalyst metal component of from 1:1 to 1:15.

9. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the hydrogenation is carried out at a pressure of from 40 bar to 120 bar.

10. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the hydrogenation is carried out at a temperature of from 40° C. to 160° C.

11. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the conversion of C 2 oxygenate compounds to ethylene glycol of the hydrogenation is at least 70%.

12. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the selectivity of C 2 oxygenate compounds to ethylene glycol of step b. is at least 75%.

13. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the pyrolysis product composition of step a. comprises formaldehyde in a ratio of formaldehyde:glycolaldehyde of from 1:2 to 1:20.

14. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the product of the hydrogenation comprises a 1, 2-butanediol:ethylene glycol wt/wt ratio of equal to or less than 0.01:1.

15. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the process is a two-step process and the pyrolysis product composition of step a. is directly hydrogenated in step b.

16. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the pyrolysis product composition comprises one or more C 2 oxygenate compounds selected from the group consisting of glycolaldehyde, glyoxal and acetic acid.

17. A process according to claim 8 , wherein the C 2 -oxygenate compound of the composition comprising C 1 -C 3 oxygenate compounds is 10 wt % or greater.

Assignees

• Haldor Topsoe As
• Haldor Topsoe As

Inventors

• Holm Martin Spangsberg
• Taarning Esben

Classifications

• C07C29/141 Primary

  with hydrogen or hydrogen-containing gases · CPC title

• C07C45/60

  in six-membered rings · CPC title

• C07C47/127

  Glyoxal · CPC title

• C07C31/205

  1,3-Propanediol; 1,2-Propanediol · CPC title

• C07C45/52

  by dehydration and rearrangement involving two hydroxy groups in the same molecule · CPC title