Acetic Acid → Butane-2,3-diyl diacetate

Participants

Reaction Steps

The conventional butadiene process starts with reaction of butadiene with acetic acid and oxygen-containing gas, followed by hydrogenation to obtain diacetoxybutane (see FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 2, the resulting diacetoxybutane is hydrolyzed, and acetic acid and water are distilled off from the liquid reaction mixture containing crude 1,4-butanediol (hydrolyzate) in a first distillation tower. Diacetoxybutane and hydroxyacetoxybutane are separated from the hydrolyzate in a second distillation tower. The resulting crude 1,4-butanediol is hydrogenated with hydrogen gas in the presence of a catalyst for hydrogenation. After tetrahydrofuran (hereinafter abbreviated as THF) is concentrated in a third distillation tower, high purity 1,4-butanediol is recovered from a fourth distillation tower as a side stream or a bottom.

Provenance & Evidence