PRODUCTION OF BUTANE 1-3 DIOL, PROPANE 1-3 DIOL AND OTHER DIOLS AND POLYOLS

摘要

Diols are important raw materials for the polymer industry. These are conventionally prepared by the aldol condensation and hydrogenation of the resultant keto alcohols or aldehydes using a catalyst and hydrogen gas. The catalytic processes have their own operational problems such as risk of fire, high operating pressure, deactivation of catalyst, recovery of the catalyst, etc. Propane 1-3 diol has recently acquired importance for fibre forming polymer (PTT) which is superior to Poly ethylene terephthalate (PET) in several of its properties and is projected as a polymer of the future. The commercial routes to produce propane 1-3 diol are from fermentation of glucose and sacharides or by hydration of acrolein followed by hydrogenation. In the present invention, a new route to synthesize diols has been reported which starts with the aldol formation of aldehydes or ketons followed by MPV reduction. The process has the advantage of operating at very mild conditions and freedom from complication of catalytic processes.