1,4-Butanediol → Formaldehyde

Participants

Reaction Steps

Tetrahydrofuran is prepared from a crude alkaline aqueous solution of butane-1,4-diol, as obtained by reaction of acetylene with aqueous formaldehyde and catylytic hydrogenation of the resulting but-2-yne-1,4-diol solution by a process in which the alkaline solution is first neutralized with sulfuric acid and water is then eliminated in the liquid phase at from 200° to 260° C., under superatmospheric pressure and in the presence of phosphoric acid.

Provenance & Evidence