A method including hydroformylating, with syngas, allyl alcohol in an allyl alcohol feed, to produce a hydroformylation product comprising 4-hydroxybutyraldehyde and 3-hydroxy-2-methylpropionaldehyde; and producing a 1,4-butanediol (BDO) product comprising BDO and 1,3-methylpropanediol via hydrogenation of at least a portion of the hydroformylation product. A method including hydroformylating, with syngas, allyl alcohol in a feed comprising bio-allyl alcohol, to produce a hydroformylation product comprising 4-hydroxybutyraldehyde and 3-hydroxy-2-methylpropionaldehyde; and producing a BDO product comprising BDO and 1,3-methylpropanediol via hydrogenation of at least a portion of the hydroformylation product. A method including hydroformylating, with syngas, bio-allyl alcohol in a feed comprising bio-allyl alcohol, to produce a hydroformylation product comprising 4-hydroxybutyraldehyde and 3-hydroxy-2-methylpropionaldehyde; producing a BDO product comprising BDO and 1,3-methylpropanediol via hydrogenation of at least a portion of the hydroformylation product; and removing a byproduct of the production of the bio-allyl alcohol prior to hydroformylating the bio-allyl alcohol and/or from the BDO-product.

A catalyst system for the conversion of glycerin to allyl alcohol, the catalyst system comprising: a rhenium compound selected from rhenium dioxide, rhenium trioxide, and a combination thereof. A method of producing allyl alcohol from glycerin via the catalyst system, the method comprising exposing glycerin to a temperature of greater than 140 C. in the presence of a catalyst comprising rhenium trioxide, rhenium dioxide, or a combination thereof to produce a product comprising allyl alcohol.

Some embodiments of the present invention relate to processes to recover rhodium from a hydroformylation process. In some embodiments, the process to recover rhodium from the hydroformylation process comprises (a) treating a catalyst-containing stream from the hydroformylation process with 2.5 to 20 weight percent, based on the total weight of the stream, of a water-soluble organic amine of the following structure: wherein R.sup.32, R.sup.33, and R.sup.34 are each independently alkyls and ethoxylates, and wherein no more than one of R.sup.32, R.sup.33, and R.sup.34 is alkyl; (b) heating the resulting solution in the presence of syngas to a temperature of at least 65 C. to generate a rhodium-rich phase and a supernatant; and (c) removing the supernatant to recover the rhodium-rich phase.

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Disclosed herein are methods of treating a hydroformylation catalyst solution wherein the solution comprises rhodium, polyphosphoramidite ligands, and polyphosphoramidite ligand degradation products and wherein the hydroformylation catalyst solution is used to hydroformylate an olefin in an operating hydroformylation unit. In some embodiments, such methods comprise contacting the catalyst solution with a peroxide in the operating hydroformylation unit.

Disclosed is a method for recovering a spent metal-containing homogeneous catalyst using a solid adsorbent selected from bleaching agents, filter aids and mixtures thereof. In particular, the solid adsorbent is selected from bleaching earths, perlites, diatomaceous earths and mixtures thereof. Disclosed is a method for recovering a spent metal-containing homogeneous catalyst including the following steps: (A) providing a solution containing the spent metal-containing homogeneous catalyst, the solution containing at least one solvent selected from water and an organic solvent, (B) adding to the provided solution the solid adsorbent to obtain a suspension of a solid and a solvent, (C) separating the suspension to obtain a purified solvent and the solid adsorbent containing the spent metal-containing homogeneous catalyst adsorbed thereon.

The present invention relates to a simple process for regenerating a hydroformylation catalyst consisting of a heterogenized catalyst system on a support consisting of a porous ceramic material. The invention also relates to a process for the start-up of the hydroformylation reaction after regeneration according to the invention.

A polymer containing a carboxyl group, a preparation method and an application thereof, a supported catalyst and a preparation method thereof and preparation methods of penem antibiotic intermediate are disclosed. The polymer has high rigidity and hardness, thus the mechanical properties of the polymer is effectively improved. Meanwhile, in the polymer, the carboxyl group is used as a main functional group, and is used as a carrier to prepare, by means of a coordination reaction between the carboxyl group and a heavy metal, a supported metal catalyst which has better connection stability between the metal and the polymer. The above two factors can improve the stability of the supported metal catalyst, such that the catalyst can be recycled without losing the catalytic activity. Meanwhile, loss of a heavy metal active ingredient and production cost can be reduced.

A catalyst system for the conversion of glycerin to allyl alcohol, the catalyst system comprising: a rhenium compound selected from rhenium dioxide, rhenium trioxide, and a combination thereof. A method of producing allyl alcohol from glycerin via the catalyst system, the method comprising exposing glycerin to a temperature of greater than 140 C. in the presence of a catalyst comprising rhenium trioxide, rhenium dioxide, or a combination thereof to produce a product comprising allyl alcohol.

A method including hydroformylating, with syngas, allyl alcohol in an allyl alcohol feed, to produce a hydroformylation product comprising 4-hydroxybutyraldehyde and 3-hydroxy-2-methylpropionaldehyde; and producing a 1,4-butanediol (BDO) product comprising BDO and 1,3-methylpropanediol via hydrogenation of at least a portion of the hydroformylation product. A method including hydroformylating, with syngas, allyl alcohol in a feed comprising bio-allyl alcohol, to produce a hydroformylation product comprising 4-hydroxybutyraldehyde and 3-hydroxy-2-methylpropionaldehyde; and producing a BDO product comprising BDO and 1,3-methylpropanediol via hydrogenation of at least a portion of the hydroformylation product. A method including hydroformylating, with syngas, bio-allyl alcohol in a feed comprising bio-allyl alcohol, to produce a hydroformylation product comprising 4-hydroxybutyraldehyde and 3-hydroxy-2-methylpropionaldehyde; producing a BDO product comprising BDO and 1,3-methylpropanediol via hydrogenation of at least a portion of the hydroformylation product; and removing a byproduct of the production of the bio-allyl alcohol prior to hydroformylating the bio-allyl alcohol and/or from the BDO-product.

The present invention relates generally to processes for producing aldehydes wherein an olefinic compound, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen are reacted in the presence of a solubilized rhodium-phosphorous complex. In one embodiment, the process comprises (a) receiving a vaporized aldehyde product stream downstream from a hydroformylation reactor, the vaporized aldehyde product stream comprising aldehydes, phosphorous ligand, and aldehyde condensation by-products; (b) contacting the vaporized aldehyde product stream with a partial condenser so as to condense the phosphorous ligand and the by-products, wherein up to 10 weight percent of the vaporized stream is condensed; (c) removing the condensed phosphorous ligand and the condensed by-products from the liquid condensation stream using a refining column; and (d) further processing the vaporized aldehydes from the separate refining column.