Acetica® process

The ionic attachment strategy for catalytic methanol carbonylation has recently seen a resurgence of interest from both industry [49-53] and academic groups [54-57]. Most significantly, in 1998 Chiyoda and UOP announced their Acetica process, which uses a polyvinylpyridine resin tolerant of elevated temperatures and pressures [8,58]. The process attains increased... 

The Chiyoda/UOP ACETICA process for the production of acetic acid," 8th Annual Saudi-Japanese Symposium on Catalysts in Petroleum Refining and Petrochemicals, KFUPM-RI, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 29-30, 1998. 

Another approach, developed by Chiyoda/UOP, uses a rhodium catalyst heterogenized on a polymeric cation exchange resin. This takes advantage of the fact that the rhodium catalyzed carbonylation involves anionic complexes (see Section 4.2.5 below). The Chiyoda/UOP Acetica process employs a cross-linked polyvinylpyridine which is quaternized by methyl iodide to generate cationic pyridinium sites and which hold the anionic rhodium complexes by electrostatic interactions. The polymer support is tolerant of elevated temperatures and the ionic attachment of the catalyst is quite robust, resulting in only... 

Chiyoda and UOP jointly developed an improved methanol carbonyl-ation process on the basis of this supported rhodium complex catalyst the process is called the Acetica process. This process for the production of acetic acid has found several industrial applications in Asia. The process description emphasizes the use of a three-phase reactor, a bubble column, or gas-lift reactor. The reactor column contains a liquid, a solid catalyst, and a bubbling gas stream containing CO efficient dissolution of the gas in the liquid is ensured by the design, which minimizes gas-liquid mass transfer resistance. 

As in the original Monsanto process involving homogeneous catalysis and catalyst recycle, the product is removed as a liquid, because the gas phase of a stripping reactor would contain a low concentration of the high-boiling acetic acid. In the Acetica process, no catalyst recycle is needed, as the solid catalyst stays in the reactor. 

Besides the "immobilized" CF3SO3H, another homogeneous catalyst is anionic [Rh(00)212]. This was the first active rhodium catalyst for the carbonylation of methanol to acetic acid. Recently, Chiyoda and UOP introduced the Acetica process, a novel technology based on an "immobilized" [Rh(CO)2l2] on a polyvinyl pyridine resin. Compared with the existing homogeneous process, immobilization increases catalyst concentration in the reaction mixture. 

Chlyoda Corp. Acetic acid Methanol and carbon monoxide (CO) In the ACETICA process, methanol and CO are reacted with the carbonylation reaction using a heterogeneous Rh catalyst 1 NA... 

Societa Itahana Serie Acetica Sintetica (SISAS) produces isophthahc acid commercially by a proprietary process (94,95). They have installed purification facihties for hydrogenation and crystallization similar to those used for terephthahc acid. 

Acetica A process for making acetic acid by the heterogeneous carbonylation of methanol in a bubble column reactor. The catalyst is a rhodium carbonyl iodide, anchored by ion-pairing to a polyvinyl pyridine resin. Developed by Chiyoda Corporation and UOP and first described in 1998. Licensed to Guizhou Crystal Organic Chemical Group, China, in 2002 one plant was under construction in 2005. 

Recently, a more stable Rh catalyst for methanol carbonylation based on the crosslinked polyvinylpyridine system has been disclosed in which the degree of crosslinking of the resin support is as high as 60 % [115c-e]. This catalyst improvement is the basis for the potential development of a commercial methanol carbonylation acetic acid process named Acetica . This process is being offered for license by Chiyoda and UOR Even with this announcement, there are still considerable doubts whether heterogenized carbonylation catalyst systems can compete with the low-water homogeneous Rh- and Ir-catalyzed processes (cf. Sections 2.1.1 and 3.1.1.3). 

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