(678b) Combining Homogeneous Reactions with Heterogeneous Separations for the Hydroformylation of Styrene Using Tunable Solvents
- Conference: AIChE Annual Meeting
- Year: 2010
- Proceeding: 2010 Annual Meeting
- Group: Food, Pharmaceutical & Bioengineering Division
- Session:
- Time: Thursday, November 11, 2010 - 3:35pm-3:55pm
Organic Aqueous Tunable Solvents combine the benefits of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis while overcoming the limitations of both. We are using the hydroformylation of hydrophobic p-methylstyrene as a model chiral reaction, which mimics the active pharmaceutical ingredient in ibuprofen production. The homogeneous hydroformylation reaction is carried out in organic-water mixtures using Rh/TPPMS catalytic complex under 3 MPa of syngas. Reaction rates are improved by an order of magnitude and the yield is increased by 20% when compared to reported heterogeneously catalyzed reactions. After the reaction, moderate pressures of carbon dioxide (around 3 MPa) are used to induce a phase split, as the gas is almost insoluble in water but completely miscible with most organic solvents. The hydrophobic product partitions into the organic-rich phase, which is decanted and then depressurized to yield a facile separation of >99% recovery. The aqueous-rich phase, which contains 99.9% of the hydrophilic catalyst, is recycled for the next reaction cycle. We show five recycles of the catalyst without significant loss of activity.
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