N-Butyraldehyde Production

Within the reactor, however, 6 per cent of the n-butyraldehyde product is reduced to n-butanol, 4 per cent of the isobutyraldehyde product is reduced to isobutanol, and other reactions occur to a small extent yielding high molecular weight compounds (heavy ends) to the extent of 1 per cent by weight of the butyraldehyde/butanol mixture at the reactor exit. 

Higher selectivity towards the desired n-butyraldehyde product. 

Today the installed hydroformylation capacity worldwide is more than 7.5 Mio tons per year (Baerns et al., 2006). The most important feedstock is propene, with the products n-butyraldehyde and iso-butyraldehyde (Scheme 6.14.3). The most important single product from propene hydroformylation is 2-ethyl-l-hexanol (>50% of the n-butyraldehyde production), the aldol condensation product obtained from n-butanal, which is an important plasticizer alcohol. After esterification with phthalic anhydride, dioctyl phthalates plasticizers are obtained that are used mainly in poly(vinyl chloride) plastics. 

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