Hydro Patents Company

A. Kuperman, R. G. Bowman, H. W. Clark, G. E. Hartwell, B. J. Schoeman, H. E. Tuinstra, G. R. Meima, Process for the hydro-oxidation of olefins to olefin oxides using oxidized gold catalyst, U.S. Patent No. 6,255,499,2001, Assigned to DOW Chemical Company. 

It all benefitted Norsk Hydro, however. While Odda was completely honest about its technical knowledge, Norsk Hydro tried to circumvent the Odda process patent. After negotiations fell through in 1933, three leaders of Odda summed up their bitter experiences Norsk Hydro had not made any serious offer, but seemed to have wanted to postpone the matter and to get hold of all possible information, information that is now used to circumvent the Odda process. " " Even though Norsk Hydro clearly exploited the economic difficulties of Odda at the time, it is possible to understand why, since Odda s real plans had been to collaborate with American Cyanamid Company, in all probability as a competitor to Norsk Hydro. In any case, Norsk Hydro was in a very vulnerable position itself, also hit by the crisis it was only in 1929 that it completed restructuring to produce nitrogen fertiliser by the Haber-Bosch process. In the end, Odda did very little. Odda Smelteverk was sold to the British Oxygen Company in late 1937, and the Odda process was licenced to I.G. Farben in 1938, to Dutch Staats Mijnen in 1939, and eventually to Norsk Hydro after the war. 

The Dow Chemical Company also filed several patents [183, 184] on Au-based catalysts for hydro-oxidation (i.e., direct reaction with O2 in presence of Hj) of alkenes (propene and larger). One of them, focused on catalyst prepared starting with atomically precise Au clusters, claims stable catalyst activity over extended hfetime and improved hydrogen efficiency with selectivity of about 90% toward formation of epoxide [184]. 

A thorough review of the scientific and patent literature was performed to identify examples of hydrofonnylation of complex substrates which might form the basis of commercial processes. Since industrial companies typically do not disclose their actual manufacturing process, some speculation is necessary. Often the scale of the reactions is indicative of the level of commercial interest in a given hydro-formylation reaction. Additionally, reports of the use of hydroformylation in an alternative synthesis of a latmched pharmaceutical or agrochemical are also suggestive of potential commercial interest. 

Dhingra, S., Schroden, R., Watson, K., et al. (2010). Hydro-oxidation Process Using a Catalyst Prepared from a Gold Cluster Complex, US Patent US20100076208. Dow Chemical Company Assignee. 

As BASF also decided that it should not miss the opportunity to participate in the commercial development of the electric arc process getting under way in Norway, it concluded a cooperative agreement with Norsk Hydro, proprietors of the Birkeland-Eyde design, in December 1906. In the fall of 1907 the company set up an experimental plant at Kristianssand in southern Norway where it tested electric arc furnaces with power requirements of up to 450 kW. Any patentable increase... 

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