Carbon monoxide methanol carbonylation

It seems unlikely, on the basis of deuterium-labeling experiments, that a metallocycle is involved in the ring expansion of (l-methylcyclopropyl)methanol catalyzed by [RhCl(CO)2]2 Further, if the reaction is carried out in the presence of carbon monoxide, no carbonyl group is incorporated in the organic product. 

Dicarbonylation occurs mainly by the carbonylation of propargylic halides and alcohols carried out under a high pressure of carbon monoxide. The carbonylation of propargyl bromide (51) at 20 atm affords 2,3-butadienoate (52) as described in Section 11.3.2.2. On the other hand, carbonylation of propargyl chloride (77) in methanol at room temperature under high pressure (100 atm) catalyzed by PdClj or Pd/charcoal afforded dimethyl itaconate (79). The primary product seems to be 2,3-butadienoate (78), which is carbonylated further (Scheme 11-23) [10,11]. As supporting evidence, formation of diethyl itaconate (81) in 64% yield by the carbonylation of ethyl 2,3-butadienoate (80) at room temperature under high pressure was confiimed. 

Therefore, any possible use of DMC as substitute of phosgene should be based on a different synthesis of DMC, not involving phosgene. Non-phosgene alternative routes for DMC production, basically, have relied on the reaction of methanol with carbon monoxide (oxidative carbonylation) or with carbon dioxide (direct carboxyl-ation with CO2, or indirect carboxylation, using urea or alkylene carbonates as CO2 carriers) (Figure 1.10) [72]. 

To avoid the use of the extremely toxic chemical, phosgene, several alternative routes have been considered based on the use of carbon monoxide (oxidative carbonylation) or carbon dioxide (through direct or indirect carboxylation). The two most attractive routes for industrial syntheses were found to be oxidative carbonylation of methanol in the presence of a suitable catalyst (eq.2)... 

It is also worth mentioning that methyl formate was found to be able to replace carbon monoxide in carbonylation. It was shown that oxidative carbonylation of alkenes to olefinic esters with the Pd-Cu system can be performed using methyl formate in the presence of carbon monoxide or even in its absence provided that LiOCH3, which favors the decomposition of methyl formate to methanol and CO, is added (Scheme 16). A mechanism involving alkoxycarbonylation was proposed. " ... 

Low pressure methanol carbonylation transformed the market because of lower cost raw materials, gender, lower cost operating conditions, and higher yields. Reaction temperatures are 150—200°C and the reaction is conducted at 3.3—6.6 MPa (33—65 atm). The chief efficiency loss is conversion of carbon monoxide to CO2 and H2 through a water-gas shift as shown. 

The subject has been reviewed (37,38). Water may be added to the feed to suppress methyl acetate formation, but is probably not when operating on an industrial scale. Water increase methanol conversion, but it is involved in the unavoidable loss of carbon monoxide. A typical methanol carbonylation flow sheet is given in Figure 2. 

About half of the wodd production comes from methanol carbonylation and about one-third from acetaldehyde oxidation. Another tenth of the wodd capacity can be attributed to butane—naphtha Hquid-phase oxidation. Appreciable quantities of acetic acid are recovered from reactions involving peracetic acid. Precise statistics on acetic acid production are compHcated by recycling of acid from cellulose acetate and poly(vinyl alcohol) production. Acetic acid that is by-product from peracetic acid [79-21-0] is normally designated as virgin acid, yet acid from hydrolysis of cellulose acetate or poly(vinyl acetate) is designated recycle acid. Indeterrninate quantities of acetic acid are coproduced with acetic anhydride from coal-based carbon monoxide and unknown amounts are bartered or exchanged between corporations as a device to lessen transport costs. 

The first anhydride plant in actual operation using methyl acetate carbonylation was at Kingsport, Tennessee (41). A general description has been given (42) indicating that about 900 tons of coal are processed daily in Texaco gasifiers. Carbon monoxide is used to make 227,000 t/yr of anhydride from 177,000 t/yr of methyl acetate 166,000 t/yr of methanol is generated. Infrared spectroscopy has been used to foUow the apparent reaction mechanism (43). 

The unit has virtually the same flow sheet (see Fig. 2) as that of methanol carbonylation to acetic acid (qv). Any water present in the methyl acetate feed is destroyed by recycle anhydride. Water impairs the catalyst. Carbonylation occurs in a sparged reactor, fitted with baffles to diminish entrainment of the catalyst-rich Hquid. Carbon monoxide is introduced at about 15—18 MPa from centrifugal, multistage compressors. Gaseous dimethyl ether from the reactor is recycled with the CO and occasional injections of methyl iodide and methyl acetate may be introduced. Near the end of the life of a catalyst charge, additional rhodium chloride, with or without a ligand, can be put into the system to increase anhydride production based on net noble metal introduced. The reaction is exothermic, thus no heat need be added and surplus heat can be recovered as low pressure steam. 

Coproductioa of ammonium sulfate is a disadvantage of the formamide route, and it has largely been supplanted by processes based on the direct hydrolysis of methyl formate. If the methanol is recycled to the carbonylation step the stoichiometry corresponds to the production of formic acid by hydration of carbon monoxide, a reaction which is too thermodynamicaHy unfavorable to be carried out directly on an iadustrial scale. 

MMA from Propyne. Advances in catalytic carbonylation technology by Shell researchers have led to the development of a single-step process for producing MMA from propyne [74-99-7] (methyl acetylene), carbon monoxide, and methanol (76—82). 

The reaction is carried out in the Hquid phase at 373—463 K and 3 MPa (30 atm) of carbon monoxide pressure using nickel salt catalyst, or at 313 K and 0.1 MPa (1 atm) using nickel carbonyl as both the catalyst and the source of carbon monoxide. Either acryHc acid or methyl acrylate may be produced directly, depending on whether water or methanol is used as solvent (41). New technology for acryHc acid production uses direct propjdene oxidation rather than acetylene carbonylation because of the high cost of acetjdene. This new process has completely replaced the old in the United States (see... 

Acetic acid (qv) can be produced synthetically (methanol carbonylation, acetaldehyde oxidation, butane/naphtha oxidation) or from natural sources (5). Oxygen is added to propylene to make acrolein, which is further oxidized to acryHc acid (see Acrylic acid and derivatives). An alternative method adds carbon monoxide and/or water to acetylene (6). Benzoic acid (qv) is made by oxidizing toluene in the presence of a cobalt catalyst (7). 

In an integrated continuous process, cellulose reacts with acetic anhydride prepared from the carbonylation of methyl acetate with carbon monoxide. The acetic acid Hberated reacts further with methanol to give methyl acetate, which is then carbonylated to give additional acetic anhydride (100,101). 

Into a pressure reactor there was charged 100 ml of methanol and 1 g of diruthenium nona-carbonyl. The reactor was closed, cooled in solid carbon dioxide/acetone, and evacuated. Acetylene, to the extent of 1 mol (26 g), was metered into the cold reactor. Carbon monoxide was then pressured into this vessel at 835-9BO atmospheres, during a period of 16.5 hours while the reactor was maintained at 100°C to 1 50°C. The reactor was then cooled to room temperature and opened. 

The final step in the process involves reacting purified carbon monoxide from the gas separation plant with methyl acetate to form acetic anhydride, using a proprietary catalyst system and process. Part of the acetic anhydride is reacted with methanol to produce acetic acid and methyl acetate, and the latter is recirculated to the carbonylation step. 

Yeom and Frei [96] showed that irradiation at 266 nm of TS-1 loaded with CO and CH3OH gas at 173 K gave methyl formate as the main product. The photoreaction was monitored in situ by FT-IR spectroscopy and was attributed to reduction of CO at LMCT-excited framework Ti centers (see Sect. 3.2) under concurrent oxidation of methanol. Infrared product analysis based on experiments with isotopically labeled molecules revealed that carbon monoxide is incorporated into the ester as a carbonyl moiety. The authors proposed that CO is photoreduced by transient Ti + to HCO radical in the primary redox step. This finding opens up the possibility for synthetic chemistry of carbon monoxide in transition metal materials by photoactivation of framework metal centers. 

General Procedure for Batch Carbonylation of Methanol in the Absence of Methyl Iodide. A complete set of procedures appears in ref. 5 bnt the following procedure is representative of a methanol carbonylation. To a 300 mL Hastelloy C-276 autoclave was added 0.396 g (1.5 mmol) of RhCl3 3H20, 112.0 g (0.507 mol) of N-methyl pyridinium iodide, 30.0 g (0.5 mol) of acetic acid, and 64.0 g (2.0 mol) of methanol. The mixture was heated to 190°C under 250 psi (1.72 MPa) of 5% hydrogen in carbon monoxide. Upon reaching temperatnre the gas feed was switched... 

The carbonylation of methanol was developed by Monsanto in the late 1960s. It is a large-scale operation employing a rhodium/iodide catalyst converting methanol and carbon monoxide into acetic acid. An older method involves the same carbonylation reaction carried out with a cobalt catalyst (see Section 9.3.2.4). For many years the Monsanto process has been the most attractive route for the preparation of acetic acid, but in recent years the iridium-based CATIVA process, developed by BP, has come on stream (see Section 9.3.2) ... 

Vinyl halides (example 17, Table VII) were first observed by Kroper to form acrylic esters by reaction with carbon monoxide under pressure and tetracarbonylnickel in methanol at 100°C. These reactions were later shown to occur under much milder conditions. Highly stereospecific reactions were observed c/s-vinyl halides gave cis-carbonylation products and trans-vinyl halides trans-carbonylation products (example 18, Table VII). Retention of configuration of alkyl substrates in carbonylation seems to be a general feature in carbon monoxide chemistry (193a). 

Of the three catalytic systems so far recognized as being capable of giving fast reaction rates for methanol carbonylation—namely, iodide-promoted cobalt, rhodium, and iridium—two are operated commercially on a large scale. The cobalt and rhodium processes manifest some marked differences in the reaction area (4) (see Table I). The lower reactivity of the cobalt system requires high reaction temperatures. Very high partial pressures of carbon monoxide are then required in the cobalt system to... 

Eastman-Halcon A process for making acetic anhydride from syngas. The basic process is the carbonylation of methyl acetate. Methanol is made directly from the carbon monoxide and hydrogen of syngas. Acetic acid is a byproduct of the cellulose acetate manufacture for which the acetic anhydride is needed. The carbonylation is catalyzed by rhodium chloride and chromium hexacarbonyl. 

As a case study an acetic acid process has been given. Acetic acid is produced by a liquid-phase methanol carbonylation. Acetic acid is formed by the reaction between methanol and carbon monoxide which is catalysed by rhodium iodocarbonyl catalyst. The process diagram is shown in Figure 7. 

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