PROCESS FOR PRODUCING ALKADIENOL

Abstract: A process for producing an alkadienol which comprises reacting a conjugated alkadiene with water in a reaction solvent in the presence of a palladium catalyst, separating the solvent from the resultant reaction mixture by distilling the mixture under the condition wherein the temperature of the bottom oil in a distillation column is 120 °C or below while directly feeding hot water and/or steam as the heat-transfer medium to the column, and subjecting the bottom to phase separation. This process causes neither the decomposition and/or polymerization of the formed alkadienol nor the metallation of the palladium catalyst, and hence serves to inhibit the loss of the alkadienol and the catalyst and provide the objective alkadienol in a high yield.

Description: The present invention relates to a process for producing alkadienols and, more particularly, to a process for producing alkadienols comprising the steps of: reacting a conjugated alkadiene with water in the presence of a palladium catalyst; distilling and separating the obtained reaction mixture; and phase-separating bottoms discharged from a distillation column so as to obtain the alkadienols which are a dimerized hydrate of the conjugated alkadiene. Alkadienols, especially octadienol (a mixture of octa-2,7-diene-1-ol and octa-1,7-diene-3-ol), are industrially important compounds. They are used as intermediates for producing n-octanol and, for example, an ester thereof. A conventional method of producing alkadienols is to react a conjugated alkadiene with water in the presence of a catalyst composed of a palladium compound and a phosphine or a phosphite, and carbon dioxide. For example, JP-A-54-144306 discloses a process for producing octa-2,7-diene-1-ol comprising a hydration and dimerization step for producing octadienol by reacting 1,3-butadiene with water in the presence of a catalyst composed of a nonaqueous palladium compound and a phosphine or a phosphite, carbon dioxide and an organic solvent; a low-boiling point component separation step for separating a low-boiling point by-product, water and the organic solvent from the liquid reaction product (reaction mixture) obtained in the hydration and dimerization step so as to obtain a component containing octadienol, a high-boiling point by-product and the catalyst; a flash distillation step for flash-distilling the obtained component containing octadienol, the high-boiling point by-product and the catalyst so as to separate a fraction containing octadienol from a high-boiling point component containing the high-boiling point by-product and the catalyst; a catalyst recovery step for separating the high-boiling point by-product from the high-boiling point component so as to obtain a catalyst solution; and an octadienol refining step for distilling the obtained fraction containing octadienol so as to separate octa-1,7-diene-3-ol and a high-boiling point ingredient, thereby refining octa-2,7-diene-1-ol. It is described that the low-boiling point by-product separation step in the above-mentioned process is carried out at a temperature of not higher than 110°C in order to remove octa-1,3,7-triene which is a by-product and the low-boiling point solvent such as acetone, from the reaction mixture. It is also disclosed that the liquid remaining in the distillation still is composed of an organic phase and an aqueous phase, and that the aqueous phase is separated from the remaining liquid and recycled to the hydration and dimerization step. In the low-boiling point component separation step for separating a low-boiling point component from the reaction mixture, if the distilling temperature is too high, for example if it exceeds 120°C, the alkadienol produced is decomposed and/or polymerized so that the yield is reduced, and the palladium catalyst is metallized. Such a loss in the alkadienol and the palladium catalyst is not only caused by the high distillation temperature but also influenced by the method of supplying the heat which is necessary for the distillation. The heat necessary for distillation is generally indirectly supplied to a bottom liquid in the distillation column through a heat exchanger such as a shell-type kettle, a tubular-type kettle or a jacketed-type kettle. In such a heat supply system (indirect heating system), since the bottom liquid is heated by passing a heating medium generally heated to a temperature of at least 30°C higher than the temperature of the bottom liquid through the heat exchanger, the temperature of the heating surface of the heat exchanger which is in contact with the bottom liquid in the distillation column is higher than the temperature of the bottom liquid. For example, the temperature of the transfer surface is at least 120°C. Therefore, in the case of indirect heating, it is difficult to prevent the decomposition and/or polymerization of the alkadienols, and the metallization of the palladium catalyst due to the local heating by the heating surface of the heat exchanger, so that the loss in the alkadienols and the palladium catalyst is very large. That is, although the method disclosed in JP-A-54-144306 is advantageous in that the temperature of the bottom liquid in the distillation column can be restricted because water exists in the bottom liquid, it is disadvantageous in that since the distillation and separation in the low-boiling point component separation step is carried out by the indirect heating, there is a loss in the alkadienols and the palladium catalyst due to the local heating by the heating surface of the heat exchanger. The present invention seeks to provide a process for producing alkadienols by reacting a conjugated alkadiene with water in a reaction solvent in the presence of a palladium catalyst, which facilitates the separation of the reaction solvent from the obtained reaction mixture without a loss in the alkadienol and the palladium catalyst. As a result of studies undertaken by the present inventors so as to solve the above-described problem, it has been found that in the process for producing alkadienols comprising the steps of: reacting a conjugated alkadiene with water in a reaction solvent in the presence of a palladium catalyst; distilling the obtained reaction mixture so as to separate the reaction solvent from the reaction mixture; and phase-separating bottoms discharged from the bottom of a distillation column, when the reaction mixture is distilled under the condition that the temperature of the bottom liquid in the distillation column is not higher than 120°C while directly supplying heated water and/or steam as a heating medium to the distillation column, the alkadienol is neither decomposed nor polymerized and the palladium catalyst is not metallized, so that there is hardly any loss in the alkadienol or the palladium catalyst. Thus the present invention provides a process for producing an alkadienol comprising the steps of: reacting a conjugated alkadiene with water in a reaction solvent in the presence of a palladium catalyst; distilling the obtained reaction mixture in a distillation column so as to separate the reaction solvent from the reaction mixture, while directly supplying heated water, steam or a mixture thereof as a heating medium to the distillation column, under the condition that the temperature of a bottom liquid in the distillation column is not higher than 120°C; and phase-separating bottoms discharged from the distillation column. The reaction solvent may have a lower boiling point than water, and, during the distillation process, at least a part of the aqueous solution of the aqueous phase obtained by the phase separation of the bottoms may be heated and returned as a heating medium to the distillation column, so that sufficient water for the phase separation of the bottoms at ordinary temperature is kept in the bottom liquid in the distillation column. The reaction solvent may be a water-soluble low-boiling point reaction solvent, and said obtained reaction mixture may be supplied to a middle plate in said distillation column and said obtained reaction mixture may be distilled under conditions such that the amount of the aqueous phase in the bottom liquid in the distillation column is 20 to 98 wt%, the temperature of the bottom liquid is 30 to 120°C, and the pressure in the distillation column is 10 to 203 kPa (0.1 to 2 atm), and, during the distillation process, a heating medium composed of the heated water and steam produced by heating at least a part of the aqueous solution of the aqueous phase obtained by the phase separation of the bottoms may be directly introduced into the bottom liquid in the distillation column. The present invention will now be explained in more detail. Examples of the conjugated alkadiene which is able to produce an alkadienol by reacting with water are 1,3-butadiene, 2-ethyl-1,3-butadiene, 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene, isoprene, 1,3-pentadiene, chloroprene and 1,3-octadiene. When 1,3-butadiene is used as a starting material, examples of the starting material which are generally easily available are commercial refined 1,3-butadienes, and a so-called BBP (butane-butadiene product) such as a C 4 fraction mixture in the naphtha decomposition product. When BBP is used as a starting material, it is preferable to separate and remove in advance the acetylenes and the allenes contained in the BBP. The total concentration of the acetylenes and the allenes in the 1,3-butadienes as a starting material is preferably as low as possible. Generally, the total concentration is preferably not more than 1.0 wt% based on the 1,3-butadienes. The method of reducing the acetylenes and the allenes is not restricted and a known method can be appropriately adopted. As water used as the other starting material, water having a purity of a degree which does not influence the hydration and dimerization is appropriately used. The amount of water is not restricted, but is generally 0.5 to 10 mol, preferably 1 to 5 mol, based on one mole of the conjugated alkadiene. In order to maintain the temperature of the bottom portion of the distillation column at a temperature of not higher than a predetermined temperature, namely not higher than 120°C in the distillation and separation process which will be described later, a larger amount of water than that which is necessary for the hydration and dimerization is preferably used. The form and the valence of the palladium compound used as the palladium catalyst in the present invention are not restricted. Examples of the palladium compound are metallic palladiums such as palladium black and a palladium metal with a carrier; 0-valent palladium complexes such as bis(t-butylisonitrile) palladium (0), bis(t-amylisonitrile) palladium (0), bis(cyclohexylisonitrile) palladium (0), bis(phenylisonitrile) palladium (0), bis(p-tolylisonitrile) palladium (0), bis(2,6-dimethylphenylisonitrile) palladium (0), tris(dibenzylideneacetone) dipalladium (0), (1,5-cyclooctadiene) (maleic anhydride) palladium (0), bis(norbornene) (maleic anhydride) palladium (0), bis(maleic anhydride) (norbornene) palladium (0), (dibenzylideneacetone) (bipyridyl) palladium (0), and (p-benzoquinone) (o-phenanthroline) palladium (0); tetrakis(phosphine) palladium complexes, tris (phosphine) palladium complexes, and bis(phosphine) palladium complexes which have a phosphine compound as a ligand such as tetrakis(triphenylphosphine) palladium (0), tris(triphenylphosphine) palladium (0), bis(tritolylphosphine) palladium (0), bis(trixylyl) palladium (0), bis(trimesitylphosphine) palladium (0), bis(tritetramethylphenyl) palladium (0) and bis(trimethylmethoxyphenylphosphine) palladium (O), and tetrakis (phosphite) palladium complexes, tris (phosphite) palladium complexes, and bis(phosphite) palladium complexes which have a phosphite compound as a ligand and which correspond to the above-mentioned phosphine compounds; inorganic palladium salts such as palladium chloride (II), palladium nitrate (II), tetraammine dichloropalladium (II) and disodium tetrachloropalladium (II); palladium carboxylates such as palladium acetate (II), palladium benzoate (II) and palladium α-picolinate (II); palladium chelate compounds such as bis(acetylacetone) palladium (II) and bis(8-oxyquinoline) palladium (II); and divalent palladium complexes such as bis(allyl) palladium (II), (η-allyl) (η-cyclopentadienyl) palladium (II), (η-cyclopentadienyl) (1,5-cyclooctadiene) palladium (II) tetrafluoroborate, bis(benzonitrile) palladium (II) acetate, di-µ-chlorodichlorobis(triphenylphosphine) dipalladium (II), bis(tri-n-butylphosphine) palladium (II) acetate and 2,2-bipyridyl palladium (II) acetate. Among these, tetrakis(triphenylphosphine) palladium (0), bis(tritolylphosphine) palladium (0), bis(trixylyl) palladium (0), bis(trimethylmethoxyphenylphosphine) palladium (0), palladium acetate (II) and bis(acetylacetone) palladium (II) are preferred. The amount of palladium compound used is ordinarily 0.00001 to 1 gram atom, preferably 0.0001 to 0.5 gram atom (as calculated in terms of palladium atoms), based on one mol of the conjugated alkadiene. It is possible to use phosphines or phosphites as a co-catalyst together with the palladium compound. Examples of a phosphine or a phosphite used as the co-catalyst are trialkyl phosphines such as tri-n-octylphosphine, tributylphosphine and dimethyl-n-octylphosphine and phosphites correspoinding thereto; tricycloalkylphosphines such as tricyclohexyl phosphine; triarylphosphines such as triphenylphosphine, tritolylphosphine, diphenyl-p-chlorophenylphosphine, tris(p-methoxylphenyl) phosphine, di(tolyl) (phenyl) phosphine, (tolyl) di(phenyl) phosphine, tri(ethylphenyl) phosphine, di(ethylphenyl) (phenyl) phosphine, (ethylphenyl) di(phenyl) phosphine, tri(xylyl) phosphine, tri(mesityl) phosphine and tri(tetramethylphenyl) phosphine, and phosphites corresponding thereto; tertiary alkylarylphosphines such as diphenylethylphosphine, dimethylphenylphosphine, bis(diphenylphosphino) methane and 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphno) ethane, and phosphites corresponding thereto; alkoxyarylphosphines such as diethoxyphenylphosphine, ethoxydiphenylphosphine, dimethoxyphenylphosphine, diisopropoxyphenylphosphine, bis(2-butoxy) phenylphosphine and tri(methylmethoxyphenyl) phosphine; aryloxyalkylphosphines such as diphenoxyethylphosphine; phosphines containing a hetero atom such as diethylaminopropyldiphenylphosphine, morpholinopropyldiphenylphosphine and ethylsulfonylethyldiphenylphosphine. Among these, hydrophobic phosphines such as triphenylphosphine, tri(tolyl)phosphine, di(tolyl) (phenyl) phosphine, (tolyl) di(phenyl) phosphine, tri(ethylphenyl) phosphine, di(ethylphenyl) (phenyl) phosphine, (ethylphenyl) di(phenyl) phosphine, tri(xylyl) phosphine, tri(mesityl) phosphine, tri(tetramethylphenyl) phosphine, and tri(methylmethoxyphenyl) phosphine are preferred. Water-soluble phosphines of formula (I) are also usable: wherein A represents a phenyl group, M represents an alkali metal, m is an integer of 0 to 2, n is an integer of 1 to 3, and m + n = 3. In addition, cyclic phosphites of formula (II) or (III) are also usable: wherein R 1 , R 2 , and R 3 each represents an alkyl group such as methyl, ethyl or nonyl; an aryl group such as phenyl, tolyl or naphtyl; a hydroxyalkyl group such as hydroxymethyl, hydroxyethyl or hydroxypentyl; an alkoxyalkyl group such as ethoxymethyl; an aryloxyalkyl group such as phenoxymethyl; or an acyloxyalkyl group such as acetoxymethyl or acetoxypentyl. The amount of phosphines or phosphites used is ordinarily 0.1 to 100 mol, preferably 0.1 to 10 mol, based on one g of palladium, but it is not always restricted thereto. As will be described later, when bottoms discharged from the bottom portion of the distillation column are separated into an aqueous phase and an organic phase, and at least a part of the aqueous solution in the aqueous phase is heated and returned to the distillation column, it is advantageous to use a hydrophobic phosphine as the co-catalyst. The reaction solvent having a lower boiling point than that of water is preferably used from the point of view of the selection of the distilling conditions and the efficiency in the separation of the reaction solvent, but a solvent having a higher boiling point than that of water or a solvent which forms an azeotrope with water is also usable. Examples of a solvent having a lower boiling point than water are ethers such as diethyl ether, tetrahydrofuran and ethylene glycol dimethyl ether; ketones such as acetone, methyl ethyl ketone; alkols such as methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, i-propanol and t-butanol; alkanes such as pentane, hexane and heptane; and alkenes such as hexene. Examples of a solvent which forms an azeotrope with water are dioxane, trioxane, n-butyl alcohol, i-butyl alcohol, t-amyl alcohol, butyl acetate, butyl butyrate, toluene, xylene and butyl ether. For the purpose of a smooth reaction and smooth distillation and separation which will be described later, use of a water-soluble low-boiling point solvent which can dissolve at least partially both a conjugated diene and water, such as ethers, ketones and alcohols, is preferred. Among these, tetrahydrofuran, acetone and t-butanol are especially preferred. The reaction temperature can be selected from a wide range of room temperature to 180°C, but 50 to 130°C is preferred, and 60 to 100°C is more preferred. The reaction pressure can be selected from a wide range of ordinary pressure to 19.6 MPa (200 kg/cm 2 ), but 0.29 to 6.9 MPa (3 to 70 kg/cm 2 ) is preferred. At the time of reaction, CO 2 gas may coexist in the reaction system as described in JP-A-50-10565, and an inert gas such as helium and argon may also coexist in the reaction system. The reaction mixture contains a low-boiling point by-product such as an alkatriene, a high-boiling point by-product such as a dialkadienyl ether, an organic carboxylic acid and an ester as well as the catalyst, the reaction solvent, unreacted water and conjugated alkadiene and alkadienols as the main product. The contents of the low-boiling point by-product and the high-boiling point by-product depend on the reaction conditions, but each of them is ordinarily several mol% to several ten mol% based on the conjugated alkadiene. In the present invention, as a distillation apparatus for distilling the reaction mixture, separating the reaction solvent from the reaction mixture and recovering alkadienols, a batch distillation apparatus is usable, but a continuous distillation apparatus is ordinarily used. The column may, for example, be a packed column, a bubble tower column or a perforated-plate column. Among these, a packed column is industrially advantageously used. It is essential in the present invention to distill the reaction mixture so as to separate the reaction solvent from the reaction mixture, under the condition that the temperature of the bottom liquid in the distillation column is not higher than 120°C, while directly supplying heated water and/or steam as a heating medium to the distillation column. As the heating medium, heated water having a temperature of not lower than 30°C and/or steam having a temperature in the range of the boiling point under the operating pressure of the distillation column to 120°C is preferably used. Furthermore, it is preferable to heat at least a part of the aqueous solution of the aqueous phase which is obtained by the later-described phase separation of the bottoms to not lower than 30°C and to return the heated solution to the distillation column. Especially, when at least a part of the aqueous solution of the aqueous phase which is obtained by the phase separation of the bottoms is supplied to the distillation column through a heat exchanger (heater), a part thereof is preferably converted into steam. The amount of steam is preferably 3 to 95 wt% based on the amount of water supplied to the heat exchanger. Although the heated water and/or the steam as the heating medium may be supplied to a position other than the bottom portion of the distillation column so long as it can be utilized as a heat source for the distillation column, it is ordinarily supplied to the bottom portion of the distillation column. By using heated water and/or steam as a heating medium and directly introducing to the distillation column, it is possible to prevent the decomposition and/or the polymerization of the alkadienols and the metallization of the palladium catalyst caused by the local heating of the heating surface due to indirect heating using, for example, a heat exchanger. By directly introducing a heating medium produced by heating at least a part of the aqueous solution of the aqueous phase which is obtained by the phase separation of the bottoms to the distillation column, it is possible not only to prevent the decomposition and/or the polymerization of the alkadienols and the metallization of the palladium catalyst but also to reduce the load for discharging the water after the distillation and the phase separation. Especially by heating at least a part of the aqueous solution of the aqueous phase which is obtained by the phase separation of the bottoms so as to convert it to heated water and steam, and directly supplying it to the distillation column, it is possible not only to prevent the decomposition and/or the polymerization of the alkadienols and the metallization of the palladium catalyst but also to reduce the load for discharging the water after the distillation and the phase separation. In addition, it is possible to prevent the heating surface for heating water obtained by the phase separation from being contaminated due to the adhesion of harzburgite and it is easy to heat the bottom liquid to a predetermined temperature with the steam. In the present invention, the content of the aqueous phase of the bottoms (the amount of the aqueous phase separated relative to the whole) is generally adjusted to not less than 20 wt%, preferably 20 to 98 wt%, more preferably 30 to 97 wt%. The distillation process in the present invention is carried out under the conditions that an aqueous phase exists in the bottom liquid in the distillation column and the temperature of the bottom liquid is not higher than 120°C. If the temperature of the bottom liquid exceeds 120°C, the target alkadienols are sometimes decomposed and/or polymerized. The temperature of the bottom liquid in the distillation column is preferably 30 to 110°C, more preferably 50 to 105°C. The distillation process in the present invention is also generally carried out under the condition that the pressure in the distillation column is not more than 203 kPa (2 atm), preferably 10 to 185 kPa (0.1 to 1.8 atm), more preferably 36 to 152 kPa (0.35 to 1.5 atm). When the distillation process is carried out industrially, if the pressure in the distillation column is too low, there is a problem of pressure reducing control or, when a low-boiling point solvent is used, there is a problem of the load for cooling the solvent so as to condense it before recovery. Therefore, atmospheric distillation which does not require any special apparatus for pressure reduction or pressurization is industrially advantageous. The appropriate distilling conditions can be realized by appropriately selecting the conditions such as the position of the feed tray and the reflux ratio. When a solvent having a higher boiling point than that of water is used, it is possible to make the aqueous phase remain in the bottoms by extracting the solvent mainly from the top of the distillation column by, if necessary, an azeotropic distillation using a component which can form a low-boiling point azeotrope with the solvent. The reaction mixture is preferably supplied to a middle plate in the distillation column. In other words, a predetermined number of plates are provided in the recovery portion under the feed tray in order to ensure that the water-soluble low-boiling point solvent does not substantially exist in the bottom liquid in the distillation column. The theoretical number of plates in the recovery portion is preferably not less than one when acetone is used as the water-soluble low-boiling point solvent; not less than two when tetrahydrofuran is used as the water-soluble low-boiling point solvent; and not less than three when t-butanol is used as the water-soluble low-boiling point solvent. The supply of the reaction mixture to a middle plate in the distillation column enables the water-soluble low-boiling point solvent not to exist substantially in the bottom liquid in the distillation column. Therefore, it is possible to recover alkadienols from the bottoms by an easy and simple method such as phase separation. It is possible to reuse the solvent distilled and separated from the reaction mixture as a reaction solvent by recycling at least a part of the solvent to the reaction system. The bottoms discharged from the distillation column are allowed to stand as they are if necessary after cooling, so as to separate the aqueous phase from the organic phase. At least a part of the aqueous phase which is obtained by the phase separation of the bottoms may be heated by a heat exchanger such as a reboiller and returned to the distillation column by a recycling pump. The aqueous phase in the present invention refers to a phase composed mainly of water, which does not form a homogeneous phase with a phase mainly composed of an organic layer and in which an organic or inorganic ingredient may be dissolved therein within the saturation solubility. The organic phase refers to a phase composed mainly of an organic ingredient such as an alkadienol, which does not form a homogeneous phase with a phase mainly composed of water and in which water, the catalyst, for example, may be dissolved therein within the saturation solubility. A preferred process of the present invention will now be explained with reference to Fig. 1. In a reaction vessel 11, a conjugated alkadiene is reacted with water in a reaction solvent in the presence of a palladium catalyst, and the obtained reaction mixture is supplied to a reaction mixture storage tank 1. The reaction mixture is then supplied from the storage tank 1 to a middle plate in a distillation column 2, and distilled so as to be separated from the reaction solvent. The reaction solvent is extracted from the top portion of the distillation column 2 as a recovered solvent 3. A part of the recovered solvent 3 is returned to reaction vessel 11 as a recycle solvent 14. The effluent discharged from the bottom portion of the distillation column 2 is extracted as bottoms 12 and supplied to an oil/water separator (phase separator) 4. The bottoms 12 are separated into an aqueous phase and an organic phase by the oil/water separator 4, and the organic phase containing alkadienols is extracted from the oil/water separator 4 as a reaction product 6. The aqueous phase is also extracted from the oil/water separator 4 as an aqueous-phase effluent 13. A part of the aqueous-phase effluent 13 is heated by a heater 16 and returned to the distillation column 2 as a heated recycle solution 5 by a recycling pump 17. Although not shown in Fig. 1, a gas separation tank may be provided at the stage subsequent to the reaction vessel 11 so as to separate and recover the unreacted alkadiene and CO 2 gas and recycle them to the reaction vessel 11. According to the process of the present invention, it is possible to separate and return a solvent with efficiency without losing the Pd catalyst and alkadienols and, hence, to produce alkadienols with high efficiency. Fig. 1 schematically shows the process for producing alkadienols carried out in Example 1; and Fig. 2 schematically shows the process for producing alkadienols carried out in Comparative Example 1. The reference numerals in Figs. 1 and 2 represent the following elements: 2 ··· distillation column, 4 ··· oil/water separator, 5 ··· heated recycle solution, 8 ··· distillation column 10 ··· bottoms, 11 ··· reaction vessel, 12 ··· bottoms, 15 ··· reaction vessel, 16 ··· heater, 17 ··· recycling pump. The present invention will now be explained in more detail in the following Examples. Example 1 1200 g of 1,3-butadiene, 260 g of water, 8.7 g of bis(acetylacetone) palladium, 30 g of triphenylphosphine and 3 liters of acetone were charged in a stainless steel electromagnetic rotary autoclave having an internal volume of 10 liters and reacted at a temperature of 90°C for 3 hours while elevating the pressure to 2 MPa (20 kg/cm 2 G) with CO 2 gas. As shown in Fig. 1, the reaction mixture obtained was continuously supplied to the distillation column 2 at the rate shown in Table 1, and distilled under the conditions that the temperature of the top portion was 60°C, the temperature of the bottom portion was 101°C and the operating pressure was 101 kPa (760 mmHg). The acetone as the solvent was completely distilled from the distillate extracting pipe at the top as the recovered solvent 3, and an aqueous phase and an organic phase containing octadienol were discharged from the bottom of the distillation column as the bottoms 12. The distillation column 2 used was a perforated-plate column having 35 plates, and the eleventh plate from the top of the distillation column 2 was used as the feed tray (i.e, the recovery portion had 25 plates). The reflux ratio was set at 0.5. The bottoms 12 (the amount of the aqueous phase thereof was 98 wt%) was allowed to stand in the oil/water separator 4 for phase separation, and the aqueous solution of the aqueous phase was heated to 102°C by the heater 16. The heated aqueous solution was returned to the distillation column 2 as the heated recycle solution 5. The amount of heated recycle solution was 1,800 ml/hr. The amount of steam produced by the heater 16 was 18 wt% based on the amount of water supplied to the heater 16. The reaction product 6 in the organic phase was analyzed by extracting three samples from an organic phase extracting pipe. Table 1 shows the amount of reaction mixture supplied to the distillation column 2, the concentration of each ingredient in the reaction mixture, the amount of sample (Sample Nos. 1-1 to 1-3) extracted from the organic phase extracting pipe and the concentration of each ingredient of the sample. The octadienol recovery ratios were 102%, 96% and 99%, respectively. The interior of the distillation column 2 was clean and no metallization of Pd was observed. The concentration of each ingredient was obtained by gas chromatography analysis. Example 2 Distillation was carried out in the same way as in Example 1 except that the temperature of the top portion of the distillation column was 35°C, the temperature of the bottom portion thereof was 78°C, the operating pressure was 40 kPa (300 mmHg) and the aqueous solution of the aqueous phase which was heated to a temperature of 80°C by the heater 16 and returned to the distillation column 2 as the heated recycled solution 5 was used as the heating medium. The distillation column 2 used was a perforated-plate column having 35 plates, and the eleventh plate from the top of the distillation column was used as the feed tray. The reflux ratio was set at 0.5. The composition of the reaction mixture is shown in Table 2. The content of the aqueous phase in the bottoms was 97 wt%. Analysis of three samples of the organic phase after the phase separation gave octadienol recovery ratios of 99%, 99% and 98%, respectively. Table 2 shows the analyzed value of each ingredient. The interior of the distillation column was clean each time and no metallization of Pd was observed, as in Example 1. Example 3 Distillation was carried out in the same way as in Example 1 except that 35 g of tri(o-tolyl) phosphine was used in place of 30 g of triphenylphosphine. The content of the aqueous phase in the bottoms was 97 wt%. Analysis of a sample of the organic phase after the phase separation gave an octadienol recovery ratio of 99%. Table 3 shows the analyzed value of each ingredient. The interior of the distillation column was clean and no metallization of Pd was observed, as in Example 1. Examples 4 to 7 Distillation was carried out in the same way as in Example 1 except that the conditions were varied as shown in Table 4. Table 4 shows the composition of the reaction mixture, the amount of the aqueous phase in the bottoms, the composition of the organic phase after the phase separation, and the octadienol recovery ratio. The interior of the distillation column was clean and no metallization of Pd was observed, as in Example 1. Example 8 Distillation was carried out in the same way as in Example 1 except that water heated to 102°C was supplied at a rate of 900 g/hr in place of recycling the aqueous solution of the aqueous phase. Table 4 shows the composition of the reaction mixture, the amount of the aqueous phase in the bottoms, the composition of the organic phase after the phase separation, and the octadienol recovery ratio. The interior of the distillation column was clean and no metallization of Pd was observed, as in Example 1. Example 9 The reaction mixture obtained in the same way as in Example 1 was supplied to a stainless steel packed tower having an inner diameter of 40 mm and a height of 5,000 mm, and distillation was carried out in the same way as in Example 1. McMahon having a diameter of 6 mm was used as the packing, and the H.E.T.P was 300 mm. The reaction mixture was supplied to a position 1,300 mm from the bottom of the packed tower. After the bottoms were phase-separated, the aqueous solution of the aqueous phase was heated to a temperature of 100°C, and the heated solution was returned to the distillation column at the rate of 3,000 ml/hr. The temperature of the top portion of the distillation column was 56°C, the temperature of the bottom portion thereof was 99°C, the operating pressure was 101 kPa (760 mmHg), and the amount of the aqueous phase in the bottoms was 90 wt%. Analysis of a sample of the organic phase after the phase separation gave an octadienol recovery ratio of 99%. Table 7 shows the analyzed value of each ingredient. The interior of the packed tower was clean and no metallization of Pd was observed, as in Example 1 Comparative Example 1 1945 g of 1,3-butadiene, 865g of water, 7.5 g of bis(acetylacetone) palladium, 25.8 g of triphenylphosphine and 2.3 liters of N,N-dimethylformamide were charged in a stainless steel electromagnetic rotary autoclave 15 having an internal volume of 10 liters and reacted at a temperature of 90°C for 3 hours while elevating the pressure to 2 MPa (20 kg/cm 2 G) with CO 2 gas. As shown in Fig. 2, the reaction mixture obtained was continuously supplied to the distillation column 8 at the rate shown in Table 5, and distilled under the conditions that the temperature of the top portion of the distillation column was 100°C, the temperature of the bottom portion thereof was 160°C and the operating pressure was atmospheric pressure, while indirectly heating the bottom portion of the distillation column using oil at 180 °C as a heating medium. A low-boiling point component 9 composed mainly of water and octatriene was distilled from the distillate extracting pipe at the top. The operating pressure was then changed to 133 Pa (1 mmHg), and distillation was carried out at a top temperature of 27 °C and a bottom temperature of 72 °C. The N,N-dimethylformamide was distilled and the other components were discharged from the bottoms extracting pipe at the bottom portion as the bottoms 10. The bottoms 10 were only an organic phase without any aqueous phase. A black deposit was observed in the organic phase and the interior of the distillation column blackened. Analysis of the deposit by atomic absorption spectroscopy proved it to be Pd. The bottoms 10 were sampled three times and mixed with the N,N-dimethylformamide distilled from the top. Analysis of the mixture gave octadienol recovery ratios of as low as 62%, 63% and 58%, respectively. Table 5 shows the analyzed values. Comparative Example 2 Reaction was carried out in the same way as in Example 1. The reaction mixture obtained was distilled in the distilling apparatus shown in Fig. 2 under the conditions that the temperature of the top portion of the distillation column was 56 °C, the temperature of the bottom portion thereof was 101°C and the operating pressure was atmospheric pressure, while indirectly heating the bottom portion of the distillation column with oil at a temperature of 130 °C as a heating medium. Acetone was distilled from the top and an aqueous phase and an organic phase were discharged from the bottom portion of the distillation column. After sampling and phase-separating the bottoms, the organic phase was analyzed to obtain the octadienol recovery ratio. The weight ratio of the organic phase to the aqueous phase was 94: 6. The analyzed value of each element is shown in Table 6. The octadienol recovery ratio was only 70%. Pd was metallized in the bottom portion of the distillation column and a contamination looking like a black plated portion was observed. The process according to the present invention does not cause decomposition and/or polymerization of alkadienols nor metallization of a palladium catalyst. Therefore, the loss in alkadienols and a palladium catalyst is suppressed, so that the target alkadienols are produced in a high yield. Reaction mixture Sample No. 1-1 1-2 1-3 Weight (g/hr) 216.8 75.0 75.0 75.8 Ingredient (wt%) Octadienol 18.1 53.4 50.2 51.3 Octatriene 1.1 2.9 2.5 2.9 Dioctadienyl ether 9.0 27.0 26.0 26.0 Reaction mixture Sample No. 2-1 2-2 2-3 Weight (g/hr) 211.9 73.5 73.8 73.4 Ingredient (wt%) Octadienol 20.7 59.1 58.8 58.6 Octatriene 0.9 3.1 2.6 2.5 Dioctadienyl ether 9.0 23.0 27.0 25.0 Reaction mixture Composition of organic phase Weight (g/hr) 216.7 75.8 Ingredient (wt%) Octadienol 21.6 61.1 Octatriene 0.9 1.1 Dioctadienyl ether 5.8 16.4 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Ex. 7 Ex. 8 Distilling condition Top temperature (°C) 32 94 56 56 63 Bottom temperature (°C) 59 120 101 102 102 Operating pressure kPa (mmHg) 13.3 (100) 173 (1300) 101 (760) 101 (760) 101 (760) Reaction mixture Weight (g/hr) 211.3 220.1 214.0 215.0 213.2 Octadienol (Wt%) 20.7 19.2 20.8 21.3 21.2 Octatriene (wt%) 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.9 1.1 Dioctadienyl ether (wt%) 3.5 2.6 2.3 2.1 3.3 Organic phase Weight (g/hr) 63.5 63.8 60.1 60.8 63.3 Octadienol (Wt%) 67.5 63.6 74.8 76.8 71.2 Octatriene (wt%) 2.8 3.8 2.1 3.3 4.1 Dioctadienyl ether (wt%) 10.8 11.3 8.1 7.5 11.8 Heating medium Amount of water recycled (ml/hr) 20 1800 1800 900 heated water 900 (g/hr) Heating temperature (°C) 60 120 102 102 102 Amount of aqueous phase in bottoms (wt%) 30 96.3 97.0 93.0 93.0 Octadienol recovery ratio (%) 98 96 101 102 100 Reaction mixture Sample No. 3-1 3-2 3-3 Weight (g/hr) 220.0 190 187 184 Ingredient (wt%) Octadienol 31.6 22.7 23.4 21.9 Octatriene 0.3 0.02 0.02 0.01 Dioctadienyl ether 7.0 9.0 11.0 13.0 Reaction mixture Composition of organic phase Weight (g/hr) 211.2 75.3 Ingredient (wt%) Octadienol 19.7 38.6 Octatriene 1.3 6.0 Dioctadienyl ether 8.2 35.7 Reaction mixture Composition of organic phase Weight (g/hr) 820.0 316.0 Ingredient (wt%) Octadienol 22.3 57.3 Octatriene 1.2 3.1 Dioctadienyl ether 8.3 23.0

Claims: A process for producing an alkadienol comprising the steps of: reacting a conjugated alkadiene with water in a reaction solvent in the presence of a palladium catalyst; distilling the obtained reaction mixture in a distillation column so as to separate said reaction solvent from said reaction mixture while directly supplying heated water, steam or a mixture thereof as a heating medium to the distillation column, under the condition that the temperature of a bottom liquid in said distillation column is not higher than 120°C; and phase-separating bottoms discharged from said distillation column. A process according to claim 1, wherein said reaction solvent is a water-soluble solvent having a lower boiling point than water and which is selected from an ether, ketone, alcohol or mixture thereof. A process according to claim 2, wherein said reaction solvent is acetone, tetrahydrofuran, t-butanol or a mixture thereof. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said obtained reaction mixture is supplied to a middle plate in said distillation column so as to distill said reaction mixture in the state in which said reaction solvent substantially does not exist in said bottom liquid in said distillation column. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said heating medium is a recycle solution produced by heating at least a part of the aqueous solution of the aqueous phase obtained by the phase separation of said bottoms and returning the heated aqueous solution to said distillation column. A process according to claim 5, wherein said recycle solution is heated water and steam. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the pressure in said distillation column is not more than 203 kPa (2 atm). A process according to claim 1, wherein said reaction solvent has a lower boiling point than water and wherein, during the distillation process, at least a part of the aqueous solution of the aqueous phase obtained by the phase separation of said bottoms is heated and returned as a heating medium to said distillation column, so that sufficient water for the phase separation of said bottoms at ordinary temperature is kept in said bottom liquid in said distillation column. A process according to claim 1, wherein said reaction solvent is a water-soluble low-boiling point reaction solvent, said obtained reaction mixture is supplied to a middle plate in said distillation column and said obtained reaction mixture is distilled under conditions such that the amount of the aqueous phase in the bottom liquid in said distillation column is 20 to 98 wt%, the temperature of the bottom liquid is 30 to 120°C, and the pressure in said distillation column is 10 to 203 kPa (0.1 to 2 atm) and wherein, during the distillation process, a heating medium composed of the heated water and steam produced by heating at least a part of the aqueous solution of the aqueous phase obtained by the phase separation of said bottoms is directly introduced into said bottom liquid in said distillation column.

Inventors: ISOGAI SHINJI, KAMEO HIROSHI, MIYAZAWA CHIHIRO, MORI TOMOYUKI, ISOGAI, SHINJI, KAMEO, HIROSHI, MIYAZAWA, CHIHIRO, MORI, TOMOYUKI, MIYAZAWA, CHIHIRO 41-19-203, CHITOSEDAI 1-CHOME
Applicants: MITSUBISHI CHEM CORP, MITSUBISHI CHEMICAL CORPORATION
Application year: 1993
Main classification: C07C33
IPC codes: C07C29