By this invention processes are provided for the conversion of carbohydrate to ethylene glycol by retro-aldol catalysis and sequential hydrogenation using control methods having at least one of acetol (hydroxyacetone) and a tracer as inputs.

The invention relates to a process for producing ethylene glycol and/or ethylene carbonate, said process comprising contacting at least a portion of a recycle gas stream comprising an alkyl iodide impurity with a guard bed system positioned upstream of an ethylene oxide reactor to produce a treated recycle gas stream, wherein the guard bed system comprises silver on alumina; contacting a feed gas stream comprising ethylene, oxygen and at least a portion of the treated recycle gas stream with an epoxidation catalyst in the ethylene oxide reactor to produce an epoxidation reaction product comprising ethylene oxide; and contacting at least a portion of the epoxidation reaction product comprising ethylene oxide with an aqueous absorbent in the presence of an iodide-containing catalyst in an absorber to produce an aqueous product stream comprising ethylene carbonate and/or ethylene glycol and the recycle gas stream comprising the alkyl iodide impurity.

The present invention relates to a process for making 1,4-butanediol. The process may include reacting a solution comprising 1,4-butynediol with hydrogen in a presence of an effective amount of a catalyst. The catalyst may include copper.

The present invention relates to a process for making 1,4-butanediol. The process may include reacting a solution comprising 1,4-butynediol with hydrogen in a presence of an effective amount of a catalyst. The catalyst may include copper.

Catalyst preforming rates during hydroformylation may decrease in the presence of carbonates. Carbonate mitigation methods may comprise treating a hydroformylation reaction product with an aqueous carboxylic acid under oxidizing conditions to form a deactivated catalyst aqueous solution having a pH of about 4 or less, reducing the hydroformylation reaction product to form a reduced reaction product, conveying a gas stream through the reduced reaction product to strip carbon dioxide therefrom, contacting caustic aqueous solution with the stripped reduced reaction product to form partially spent caustic aqueous solution, combining at least a portion of the partially spent caustic aqueous solution with the deactivated catalyst aqueous solution to form a combined aqueous mixture sufficiently acidic to decompose carbonate, and extracting a Group 9 transition metal carboxylate from the combined aqueous mixture into an organic phase.

Catalyst preforming rates during hydroformylation may decrease in the presence of carbonates. Carbonate mitigation methods may comprise treating a hydroformylation reaction product with an aqueous carboxylic acid under oxidizing conditions to form a deactivated catalyst aqueous solution having a pH of about 4 or less, reducing the hydroformylation reaction product to form a reduced reaction product, conveying a gas stream through the reduced reaction product to strip carbon dioxide therefrom, contacting caustic aqueous solution with the stripped reduced reaction product to form partially spent caustic aqueous solution, combining at least a portion of the partially spent caustic aqueous solution with the deactivated catalyst aqueous solution to form a combined aqueous mixture sufficiently acidic to decompose carbonate, and extracting a Group 9 transition metal carboxylate from the combined aqueous mixture into an organic phase.

The present invention provides a process for the production of n-butanoland 1,4-butanediol, said process comprising contacting furan with hydrogen and water in the presence of a catalytic composition, comprising at least one element selected from those in groups 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the periodic table on a solid support comprising an amorphous or crystalline aluminosilicate in an acidic form, wherein the catalyst does not contain metals selected from those in groups 6 and 7 of the periodic table.

The present invention provides a process for the production of n-butanoland 1,4-butanediol, said process comprising contacting furan with hydrogen and water in the presence of a catalytic composition, comprising at least one element selected from those in groups 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the periodic table on a solid support comprising an amorphous or crystalline aluminosilicate in an acidic form, wherein the catalyst does not contain metals selected from those in groups 6 and 7 of the periodic table.

The present invention relates to a process for preparing 1,4-butanediol (BDO) by hydrogenating 2-butyne-1,4-diol (BYD) or 4-hydroxybutanal (4-HBA) in the presence of a catalyst of the Raney type having a porous foam structure, wherein the macroscopic pores have sizes in the range of 100 to 5000 μm, and a bulk density of up to 0.8 kg/L.

The present invention relates to a process for preparing 1,4-butanediol (BDO) by hydrogenating 2-butyne-1,4-diol (BYD) or 4-hydroxybutanal (4-HBA) in the presence of a catalyst of the Raney type having a porous foam structure, wherein the macroscopic pores have sizes in the range of 100 to 5000 μm, and a bulk density of up to 0.8 kg/L.