Patent ID: 6307110
Filing Date: 2001-10-23
Classification: C07B,C07C,Y02P

Abstract:
A process for separating one or more organophosphorus ligand degradation products, one or more reaction byproducts and one or more products from a continuously generated reaction product fluid comprising one or more unreacted reactants, a metal-organophosphorus ligand complex catalyst, optionally free organophosphorus ligand, said one or more organophosphorus ligand degradation products, said one or more reaction byproducts, said one or more products, one or more nonpolar solvents and one or more polar solvents, wherein said process comprises (1) supplying said reaction product fluid from a reaction zone to a separation zone, (2) mixing said reaction product fluid in said separation zone to obtain by phase separation a nonpolar phase comprising said one or more unreacted reactants, said metal-organophosphorus ligand complex catalyst, said optionally free organophosphorus ligand and said one or more nonpolar solvents and a polar phase comprising said one or more organophosphorus ligand degradation products, said one or more reaction byproducts, said one or more products and said one or more polar solvents, (3) removing from said separation zone an amount of said one or more organophosphorus ligand degradation products, said one or more reaction byproducts and said one or more products essentially equal to their rate of formation in said reaction product fluid in said reaction zone whereby the amount of said one or more organophosphorus ligand degradation products, said one or more reaction byproducts and said one or more products in said reaction product fluid in said reaction zone is maintained at a predetermined level, (4) supplying from said separation zone to said reaction zone and/or said separation zone one or more recycle streams comprising said one or more unreacted reactants, said metal-organophosphorus ligand complex catalyst, said optionally free organophosphorus ligand and said one or more nonpolar solvents, (5) recovering said one or more organophosphorus ligand degradation products, said one or more reaction byproducts and said one or more products from said one or more polar solvents, and (6) supplying from said separation zone to said reaction zone and/or said separation zone one or more recycle streams comprising said one or more polar solvents; wherein (i) the selectivity of the nonpolar phase for the organophosphorus ligand with respect to the one or more products is expressed by the following partition coefficient ratio Ef1: ##EQU11##in which said partition coefficient Kp1 is the ratio of the concentration of organophosphorus ligand in the nonpolar phase after extraction to the concentration of organophosphorus ligand in the polar phase after extraction, said partition coefficient Kp2 is the ratio of the concentration of products in the nonpolar phase after extraction to the concentration of products in the polar phase after extraction, and said Ef1 is a value greater than about 2.5, (ii) the selectivity of the nonpolar phase for the organophosphorus ligand with respect to the one or more organophosphorus ligand degradation products is expressed by the following partition coefficient ratio Ef2: ##EQU12##in which said partition coefficient Kp1 is as defined above, said partition coefficient Kp3 is the ratio of the concentration of organophosphorus ligand degradation products in the nonpolar phase after extraction to the concentration of organophosphorus ligand degradation products in the polar phase after extraction, and said Ef2 is a value greater than about 2.5, and (iii) the selectivity of the nonpolar phase for the organophosphorus ligand with respect to the one or more reaction byproducts is expressed by the following partition coefficient ratio Ef3: ##EQU13##in which said partition coefficient Kp1 is as defined above, said partition coefficient Kp4 is the ratio of the concentration of reaction byproducts in the nonpolar phase after extraction to the concentration of reaction byproducts in the polar phase after extraction, and said Ef3 is a value greater than about 2.5.