Methanol, carbonylation

As seen from the above, conventional uses of methanol cover a wide range of products which in turn find application in a very broad cross-section of industrial and consumer goods. New end uses have continued to develop and spur the growth of methanol production. One such development is the Monsanto low pressure process that carbonylates methanol to acetic acid (6). Essentially all new acetic acid capacity now being installed is based on Monsanto technology. By 1981, eleven plants converting methanol to acetic acid are scheduled to be on stream. At capacity they will consume over 300 million gallons of methanol. 

AO Plus [Acid Optimisation Plus] A process for making acetic acid by carbonylating methanol. Based on the Monsanto Acetic Acid process, but an improved catalyst (rhodium with lithium iodide) permits operation at lower levels of water. Developed by Celanese in the 1980s and operated by that company in Clear Lake, TX. Residual iodide in the product is removed by the Silverguard process. 

Carbonylations (methanol, propanol). Esterifications, manufacture of sulfuric acid, adipic acid, oxamide and so on... 

Carbonylations methanol, ethanol acetic acid, acetic anhydride, propionic acid... 

With Hugo Kroper, he demonstrated that carbon monoxide and ethylene formed propionic acid at 300°C and 200 atmospheres under the influence of nickel carbonyl. A silver-lined pilot plant for a continuous process was erected in 1943, but, owing to the war and the French occupation, a semi-works plant was not ready until 1951. Even before the outbreak of war in 1939, Reppe had used nickel carbonyl to carbonylate methanol to acetic acid, a reaction previously only possible under extreme conditions of pressure and temperature. The war (and corrosion problems) delayed its development for over a decade and a full-scale plant was not built until 1957. It is still used at Ludwigshafen and by Borden at Geismar, Louisiana. ... 

Carbonylation methanol/dimethyl ether -1- CO = acetic acid homogeneous system production of high purity acetic acid [82]... 

Probably the most important industrial application of a transition-metal nucleophile is the Monsanto process for carbonylating methanol, using soluble rhodium-carbonyl complexes in the presence of iodide. The catalyst is in fact [Rhl2(CO)2] (Forster 1979, and references therein), and the catalytic cycle is shown in Scheme 21. The substrate for the rhodium catalyst is methyl iodide, which oxidatively adds to yield [Rh(Me)(I)3(CO)2] . 

More recently, Ube Industries have published an indirect process to carbonylate methanol oxidatively to dimethyl oxalate utilizing nitrous acid methyl ester as the oxidant. A supported Pd/Fe catalyst is used and methyl nitrite can be generated either in situ or in a separate reactor from methanol and NO [74] ... 

Suspend 0 25 g. of 2 4-dinitrophenylhydrazine in 5 ml. of methanol and add 0-4 0-5 ml. of concentrated sulphuric acid cautiously. FUter the warm solution and add a solution of 0 1-0-2 g. of the carbonyl compound in a small volume of methanol or of ether. If no sohd separate within 10 minutes, dUute the solution carefuUy with 2N sulphuric acid. CoUect the solid by suction filtration and wash it with a little methanol. RecrystaUise the derivative from alcohol, dUute alcohol, alcohol with ethyl acetate or chloroform or acetone, acetic acid, dioxan, nitromethane, nitrobenzene or xylene. 

Hydrolysis of a compound A in dilute aqueous hydrochlonc acid gave (along with methanol) a compound B mp 164—165°C Compound B had the molecular formula CigHig04 it exhibited hydroxyl absorption in its IR spectrum at 3550 cm but had no peaks in the carbonyl region What IS a reasonable structure for compound B" ... 

This process comprises passing synthesis gas over 5% rhodium on Si02 at 300°C and 2.0 MPa (20 atm). Principal coproducts are acetaldehyde, 24% acetic acid, 20% and ethanol, 16%. Although interest in new routes to acetaldehyde has fallen as a result of the reduced demand for this chemical, one possible new route to both acetaldehyde and ethanol is the reductive carbonylation of methanol (85). 

Figure 3 shows the production of acetaldehyde in the years 1969 through 1987 as well as an estimate of 1989—1995 production. The year 1969 was a peak year for acetaldehyde with a reported production of 748,000 t. Acetaldehyde production is linked with the demand for acetic acid, acetic anhydride, cellulose acetate, vinyl acetate resins, acetate esters, pentaerythritol, synthetic pyridine derivatives, terephthaHc acid, and peracetic acid. In 1976 acetic acid production represented 60% of the acetaldehyde demand. That demand has diminished as a result of the rising cost of ethylene as feedstock and methanol carbonylation as the preferred route to acetic acid (qv). 

Commercial production of acetic acid has been revolutionized in the decade 1978—1988. Butane—naphtha Hquid-phase catalytic oxidation has declined precipitously as methanol [67-56-1] or methyl acetate [79-20-9] carbonylation has become the technology of choice in the world market. By-product acetic acid recovery in other hydrocarbon oxidations, eg, in xylene oxidation to terephthaUc acid and propylene conversion to acryflc acid, has also grown. Production from synthesis gas is increasing and the development of alternative raw materials is under serious consideration following widespread dislocations in the cost of raw material (see Chemurgy). 

Currently, almost all acetic acid produced commercially comes from acetaldehyde oxidation, methanol or methyl acetate carbonylation, or light hydrocarbon Hquid-phase oxidation. Comparatively small amounts are generated by butane Hquid-phase oxidation, direct ethanol oxidation, and synthesis gas. Large amounts of acetic acid are recycled industrially in the production of cellulose acetate, poly(vinyl alcohol), and aspirin and in a broad array of other... 

In 1968 a new methanol carbonylation process using rhodium promoted with iodide as catalyst was introduced by a modest letter (35). This catalyst possessed remarkable activity and selectivity for conversion to acetic acid. Nearly quantitative yields based on methanol were obtained at atmospheric pressure and a plant was built and operated in 1970 at Texas City, Tex. The effect on the world market has been exceptional (36). 

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. 

Synthesis gas is obtained either from methane reforming or from coal gasification (see Coal conversion processes). Telescoping the methanol carbonylation into an esterification scheme furnishes methyl acetate directly. Thermal decomposition of methyl acetate yields carbon and acetic anhydride,... 

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. 

Acetic acid made by methanol carbonylation sometimes has traces of iodine or bromine if the acid comes from the high pressure route. 

Methyl Acetate Garbonylation. Anhydride can be made by carbonylation of methyl acetate [79-20-9] (28) in a manner analogous to methanol carbonylation to acetic acid. Methanol acetylation is an essential first step in anhydride manufacture by carbonylation. See Figure 1. The reactions are... 

The reaction mechanism and rates of methyl acetate carbonylation are not fully understood. In the nickel-cataly2ed reaction, rate constants for formation of methyl acetate from methanol, formation of dimethyl ether, and carbonylation of dimethyl ether have been reported, as well as their sensitivity to partial pressure of the reactants (32). For the rhodium chloride [10049-07-7] cataly2ed reaction, methyl acetate carbonylation is considered to go through formation of ethyUdene diacetate (33) ... 

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. 

CO, and methanol react in the first step in the presence of cobalt carbonyl catalyst and pyridine [110-86-1] to produce methyl pentenoates. A similar second step, but at lower pressure and higher temperature with rhodium catalyst, produces dimethyl adipate [627-93-0]. This is then hydrolyzed to give adipic acid and methanol (135), which is recovered for recycle. Many variations to this basic process exist. Examples are ARCO s palladium/copper-catalyzed oxycarbonylation process (136—138), and Monsanto s palladium and quinone [106-51-4] process, which uses oxygen to reoxidize the by-product... 

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