Methanol-methyl formate, carbonylation

The direct conversion deals with the straight hydrogenation of carbon monoxide to paraffins, olefins and heteroatom (oxygen, nitrogen) containing products. The indirect conversion invokes intermediates such as methanol, methyl formate and formaldehyde. The latter ones in a consecutive reaction can yield a variety of desired chemicals. For instance, acetic acid can be synthesized directly from CO/H2, but for reasons of selectivity the carbonylation of methanol is by far the best commercial process. 

The carbonylation-homologation reaction may also be carried out on a mixture of alcohols and their formates. For instance, at a very high conversion of the reagents, methanol-methyl formate and i-butaiol -i-butyl formate produce a mixture of oxygenates particularly rich in acetates that are useful as octane improvers for gasoline (Fig. 3). 

Figure 3. Carbonylation and homologation of methanol-methyl formate, i-butanol-i-butyl formate mixture.

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) ... 

Formic acid is currently produced iadustriaHy by three main processes (/) acidolysis of formate salts, which are ia turn by-products of other processes (2) as a coproduct with acetic acid ia the Hquid-phase oxidation of hydrocarbons or (3) carbonylation of methanol to methyl formate, followed either by direct hydrolysis of the ester or by the iatermediacy of formamide. 

The carbonylation of methanol [67-56-1] to methyl formate ia the presence of basic catalysts has been practiced iadustriaHy for many years. Ia older processes for formic acid utili2ing this reactioa, the methyl formate [107-31-3] reacts with ammonia to give formamide [75-12-7] which is hydroly2ed to formic acid ia the preseace of sulfuric acid ... 

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. 

The methanol carbonylation is performed ia the presence of a basic catalyst such as sodium methoxide and the product isolated by distillation. In one continuous commercial process (6) the methyl formate and dimethylamine react at 350 kPa (3.46 atm) and from 110 to 120°C to effect a conversion of about 90%. The reaction mixture is then fed to a reactor—stripper operating at about 275 kPa (2.7 atm), where the reaction is completed and DMF and methanol are separated from the lighter by-products. The cmde material is then purified ia a separate distillation column operating at atmospheric pressure. 

A second process is the direct carbonylation of dimethylamine [124-40-3] ia the presence of a basic catalyst or a transition metal. This carbonylation is often mn ia the presence of methanol ia order to help solubilize the catalyst (7), and presumably proceeds through methyl formate as an iatermediate. 

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. 

An HP IR study of the platinum catalysed carbonylation of methanol to methyl formate, revealed that the catalyst precursor, ds-[Pt(PEt3)2Cl2] is converted into cis-[Pt(PEt3)2(CO)2] along with a cluster species, [Pt3(PEt3)3(CO) ] (n = 3 or 4) [95]. A mechanism involving oxidative addition of methanol to Pt(0) followed by CO insertion into the Pt-OMe bond was suggested. 

Reaction rates have first-order dependence on both metal and iodide concentrations. The rates increase linearly with increased iodide concentrations up to approximately an I/Pd ratio of 6 where they slope off. The reaction rate is also fractionally dependent on CO and hydrogen partial pressures. The oxidative addition of the alkyl iodide to the reduced metal complex is still likely to be the rate determining step (equation 8). Oxidative addition was also indicated as rate determining by studies of the similar reactions, methyl acetate carbonylation (13) and methanol carbonylation (14). The greater ease of oxidative addition for iodides contributes to the preference of their use rather than other halides. Also, a ratio of phosphorous promoter to palladium of 10 1 was found to provide maximal rates. No doubt, a complex equilibrium occurs with formation of the appropriate catalytic complex with possible coordination of phosphine, CO, iodide, and hydrogen. Such a pre-equilibrium would explain fractional rate dependencies. 

Figure 7 shows the results of methyl acetate carbonylation in the presence of water. Methanol and dimethyl ether were formed up to 250 C suggesting that hydrolysis of methyl acetate proceeded. With increasing reaction temperature, the yield of acetic acid increased remarkably, while those of methanol and dimethyl ether decreased gradually. Figure 8 shows the effects of partial pressures of methyl iodide, CO, and methyl acetate in the presence of water. The rate of acetic acid formation was 1.0 and 2.7 order with respect to methyl iodide and CO, respectively. Thus, the formation of acetic acid from methyl acetate is highly dependent on the partial pressure of CO. This suggests that acetic acid is formed by hydrolysis of acetic anhydride (Equation 6) which is formed from methyl acetate and CO rather than by direct hydrolysis of methyl acetate. 

Another possible reason that ethylene glycol is not produced by this system could be that the hydroxymethyl complex of (51) and (52) may undergo preferential reductive elimination to methanol, (52), rather than CO insertion, (51). However, CO insertion appears to take place in the formation of methyl formate, (53), where a similar insertion-reductive elimination branch appears to be involved. Insertion of CO should be much more favorable for the hydroxymethyl complex than for the methoxy complex (67, 83). Further, ruthenium carbonyl complexes are known to hydro-formylate olefins under conditions similar to those used in these CO hydrogenation reactions (183, 184). Based on the studies of equilibrium (46) previously described, a mononuclear catalyst and ruthenium hydride alkyl intermediate analogous to the hydroxymethyl complex of (51) seem probable. In such reactions, hydroformylation is achieved by CO insertion, and olefin hydrogenation is the result of competitive reductive elimination. The results reported for these reactions show that olefin hydroformylation predominates over hydrogenation, indicating that the CO insertion process of (51) should be quite competitive with the reductive elimination reaction of (52). 

The only claim for the production of a metallocarboxylic acid from the insertion of C02 into a metal-hydrogen bond in the opposite sense is based on the reaction of C02 with [HCo(N2)(PPh3)3] (108, 136). The metallocarboxylic acid is said to be implicated since treatment of the product in benzene solution with Mel followed by methanolic BF3 yielded a considerable amount of methyl acetate as well as methyl formate derived from the cobalt formate complex. Metallocarboxylic acid species formed by attack of H20 or OH- on a coordinated carbonyl are considered in the section on CO oxidation. 

E. Gerard, H. Gotz, S. Pellegrini, Y. Castanet, and A. Mortreux, Epoxide-tertiary amine combinations as efficient catalysts for methanol carbonylation into methyl formate in the presence of carbon dioxide, Appl. Catal, A, 170 (1998) 297-306. 

The carbonyl oxide, a valence-unsaturated species, is not the final product of an ozonolysis. Rather, it will react further in one of two ways. Carrying out the ozonol-ysis in methanol leads to the capture of the carbonyl oxide by methanol under formation of a hydroperoxide, which is structurally identical to the ether peroxide of isopropyl methyl ether. However, if the same carbonyl oxide is formed in the absence of methanol (e.g., if the ozonolysis is carried out in dichloromethane) the carbonyl oxide undergoes a cycloaddition. If the carbonyl oxide is formed along with a... 

Dinitrophenylhydrazones (DNPHs) were applied to the GC analysis of keto acids. As with carbonyl compounds, they are prepared by reaction with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine and are also used mainly for the preliminary isolation of keto acids. They can be isolated from a dilute aqueous sample by adsorption on activated carbon and selective desorption [178] hydrazones of aldehydes with a methyl formate-dichloromethane mixture and hydrazones of keto acids with a pyridine-water azeotropic mixture. Hydrazones of acids are released from their pyridine salts with methanol containing hydrogen chloride. After... 

EXAMPLE Acid-catalyzed formation of methyl benzoate from methanol and benzoic acid. Part 1 Acid-catalyzed addition of methanol to the carbonyl group. 

Methanol and methyl formate are very selectively produced at pressures above 1000 bars with ruthenium complexes (6, 8). A high-pressure reaction of COjUi in the presence of CojfCO) yields methanol and methyl formate [6,71. Also iridium carbonyls have shown interesting activities (6). 

Methanol reacts with CO in the presence of a Ru3(CO)i2 catalyst to give methyl formate. Although methyl formate is produced in industry from methanol and CO using bases as catalysts, more efScient catalysts are needed [22b]. Eormic or acetic esters of diols are carbonylated to give lactones or hydroxylic ester with [Ru(CO)3l3]7r catalysts (Eq. 11.7) [23]. 

The proposed mechanism for this carbonylation reaction, which occurs in the absence of water, involves basic catalytic steps similiar to the rhodium-catalysed methanol carbonylation process (see Section 2.1.2.1.1). The mechanism leads to the formation of acetyl iodide, which reacts with methyl formate to produce the mixed anhydride [133]. 

The production of methyl formate by carbonylation of methanol with basic catalysts [134] can be used to separate carbon monoxide from by-product synthesis gas streams, e.g., steel-mill off-gases [135], to generate clean sources of CO for production of acetic acid by methyl formate isomerization. Therefore methyl formate could be produced near cheap CO sources and then transported to an appropriate site for conversion to acetic acid. This route to acetic acid is potentially competitive with a classic grass-roots methanol carbonylation process. Though the process has not been commercialized, numerous companies have patented the isomerization of methyl formate [136]. 

In 1970 the transition metal catalyzed formation of alkyl formates from CO2, H2, and alcohols was first described. Phosphine complexes of Group 8 to Group 10 transition metals and carbonyl metallates of Groups 6 and 8 show catalytic activity (TON 6-60) and in most cases a positive effect by addition of amines or other basic additives [26 a, 54-58]. A more effective catalytic system has been found when carrying out the reaction in the supercritical phase (TON 3500) [54 a]. Similarly to the synthesis of formic acid, the synthesis of methyl formate in SCCO2 is successful in the presence of methanol and ruthenium(II) catalyst systems [54 b]. 

The carbonylation of methanol to give acetic acid, according to Eq.(l), based on the catalyst [Rh(CO)2I2], is a major industrial process (Monsanto acetic acid process). However, ruthenium clusters as catalysts seem to favor the insertion of carbon monoxide into the O-H and not into the C-O bond, according to Eq.(2). Ru3(CO)12 in basic solution converts methanol to methyl formate with 90% selectivity (400-450 bar CO,... 

The catalysts or catalysts precursors employed in these studies were anionic group 6 carbonyl complexes ( ) or group 8 metal carbonyl clusters (37— 0) where reaction conditions were 500 psi (CO2/H2) and 125 C. For the group 6 metal catalysts, the turn-over numbers obtained for the methyl formate production were ca. 15 using methanol as solvent for a 24 hour period. The anionic metal carbonyls examined as catalysts precursors included HM2(CO)io , HC02M(C0)5, and CH3C02M(C0)s as their PPN salts (PPN = bis(triphenylphosphine)-iminium and M Cr or W). The proposed reaction pathway is depicted in Scheme 3. 

Although we have been able to demonstrate that methyl formate is derived directly from carbon dioxide, it is possible, employing the same metal carbonyl catalyst precursors, to catalyze the production of methyl formate from the reaction of CO and methanol (Equation 9). 

The results of the experiments conducted in the presence of CO for both vapour-phase and liquid-phase reactions have important implications for the methyl formate route to methanol. The liquid-phase hydrogenolysis study (ref. 37) and the earlier carbonylation work (ref. 32) suggest that it is not feasible to conduct methanol synthesis via methyl formate in a single reactor. Both reactions require high pressures in order to obtain useful rates of reaction at moderate temperatures and the high CO pressures would severely limit the hydrogenolysis reaction. 

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