Method for producing monoethylene glycol

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10077223-B2
Application number	US-201615747809-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 26, 2016
Priority date	Jul 29, 2015
Publication date	Sep 18, 2018
Grant date	Sep 18, 2018

Abstract

Process for preparing monoethylene glycol (MEG) by metal-catalyzed reaction of a dialkyl oxalate of the formula I

where R 1 and R 2 are each, independently of one another, methyl, ethyl, n-propyl or isopropyl, with hydrogen (H 2 ), wherein the dialkyl oxalate (I) is used as melt or as a solution in a solvent, dialkyl oxalate (I) and H 2 are used in a molar ratio of H 2 :dialkyl oxalate (I) in the range from 4.0 to 30 and the reaction is carried out continuously in a reactor at a cross-sectional loading of ≥10 m/s, a temperature in the range from 150 to 270° C., a pressure in the range from 150 to 390 bar and in the presence of a chromium-free heterogeneous catalyst comprising copper.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process for preparing monoethylene glycol (MEG) by metal-catalyzed reaction of a dialkyl oxalate of the formula I

where R 1 and R 2 are each, independently of one another, methyl, ethyl, n-propyl or isopropyl, with hydrogen (H 2 ), wherein the dialkyl oxalate (I) is used as melt or as a solution in a solvent, dialkyl oxalate (I) and H 2 are used in a molar ratio of H 2 :dialkyl oxalate (I) in the range from 4.0 to 30 and the reaction is carried out continuously in a reactor at a cross-sectional loading of ≥10 m/s, a temperature in the range from 150 to 270° C., a pressure in the range from 150 to 390 bar and in the presence of a chromium-free heterogeneous catalyst comprising copper.

2. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the reaction is carried out continuously at a space velocity over the catalyst in the range from 0.01 to 5.0 kg of dialkyl oxalate (I)·liter cat. −1 ·h −1 .

3. The process according to claim 2 , wherein the space velocity over the catalyst is set so that the conversion of dialkyl oxalate (I) is ≥90%.

4. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the reaction is carried out continuously in a reactor at a cross-sectional loading in the range from ≥10 to 1000 m/s.

5. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the reaction is carried out continuously in a reactor at a cross-sectional loading in the range from >10 to 500 m/s.

6. The process according to claim 1 , wherein dialkyl oxalate (I) and H 2 are used in a molar ratio of H 2 :dialkyl oxalate (I) in the range from 4.2 to 20.

7. The process according to claim 1 , wherein dialkyl oxalate (I) and H 2 are used in a molar ratio of H 2 :dialkyl oxalate (I) in the range from 4.3 to 15.

8. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the reaction is carried out at a temperature in the range from 170 to 260° C.

9. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the reaction is carried out at a pressure in the range from 160 to 290 bar.

10. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the reaction is carried out continuously in a reactor and the reactor is operated with recycle by part of the reactor output being recirculated from the reactor outlet to the reactor inlet.

11. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the dialkyl oxalate (I) is dimethyl oxalate.

12. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the copper-comprising heterogeneous catalyst comprises aluminum oxide.

13. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the heterogeneous catalyst comprises lanthanum oxide.

14. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the heterogeneous catalyst comprises from 10 to 80% by weight of copper, from 0.5 to 20% by weight of lanthanum oxide and from 19.5 to 89.5% by weight of aluminum oxide.

15. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the solvent is methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol and/or ethylene glycol.

16. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the reactor is a shell-and-tube reactor or shaft reactor.

17. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the catalyst is arranged as a fixed bed in the reactor.

Assignees

• Basf Se

Inventors

• Duefert Alexander
• Pinkos Rolf
• Reiser Michael
• Brüggemann Philipp
• Theis Gerhard

Classifications

• C07C67/08

  by reacting carboxylic acids or symmetrical anhydrides with the hydroxy or O-metal group of organic compounds · CPC title

• C07C31/202

  Ethylene glycol · CPC title

• C07C29/90

  using hydrogen only · CPC title

• B01J21/02

  Boron or aluminium; Oxides or hydroxides thereof · CPC title

• B01J23/72

  Copper · CPC title