Process of preparing propynol and butynediol

摘要

Propynol and butynediol are simultaneously prepared by reacting acetylene with formaldehyde in the liquid phase in the presence of a cuprous acetylide catalyst on a base of silica gel or aluminium silicate containing from 10 to 20% by weight of copper, 2 to 9% by weight of bismuth and treated with 0.01 to 0.25 equivalent of an alkali or alkaline earth metal bromide or iodide per kilogram of the said catalyst. The catalyst may be treated with the metal halide prior or subsequent to the formation of cuprous acetylide and in the latter case the metal halide may be present in solution in the reaction medium. The reaction medium may be an aqueous medium or may be an organic system comprising, for example, acetone or tetrahydrofuran. Preferred metal halides are sodium iodide, potassium iodide, potassium bromide, lithium iodide and strontium iodide. Examples are given. A comparative example illustrates the use of a catalyst which has not been treated with an alkali or alkaline earth metal bromide or iodide. Specifications 937,887, 937,888 and 937,889 are referred to.