Patent ID: 7154012

Claim:
A process for preparing aliphatic alcohols having from 7 to 25 carbon atoms, comprising: a) hydroformylating one or more olefins having from 6 to 24 carbon atoms in the presence of one or more cobalt catalysts to form a hydroformylation mixture comprising the hydroformylated olefins and the cobalt catalysts; b) treating the hydroformylation mixture with one or more oxygen-containing gases in the presence of an acidic, aqueous cobalt(II) salt solution to form a treated mixture; c) separating the treated mixture into an aqueous phase comprising cobalt salts and an organic phase comprising one or more aliphatic aldehydes; d) hydrogenating the aldehyde-containing organic phase; and e) prior to the hydrogenating, treating at least a part of the aldehyde-containing organic phase with at least one adsorbent to remove at least a portion of the cobalt compounds from the organic phase.