Title of Invention

A PROCESS FOR PRODUCING AN ETHER COMPOUND

Abstract

645The invention provides a process for producing an ether compound. used for solvents, adhesives, resins, organic intermediate materials, lubricating oils, insulating oils, or surfactants, represented by the general formula (II), which comprises bringing an acetal compound represented by the general formula (I), into reaction with hydrogen at a temperature of 70 to 200°C under a pressure of 3 to 60 kgicm2 continuously in accordance with a fixed bed process in the presence of a solid catalyst comprising (A) nickel in an amount corresponding to 10 to 70% by weight of metallic nickel, and (B) at least one compound selected from the group consisting of oxides of silicon, aluminum, magnesium, titanium, and zirconium; and synthetic or natural inorganic oxides containing one or more of these oxides as the constituents thereof and wherein the solid catalyst is packed into a fixed bed reactor, and the acetal compound is brought into reaction with hydrogen by introducing the acetal compound continuously into the layer of the packed solid catalyst at an LHSV [a liquid hourly space velocity which is defined as (flow rate of the introduced acetal compound, ml/hr) / (amount of the solid catalyst, ml) of 0.01 to 10 hr -1 in combination with hydrogen to continuously produce the ether compound.

Full Text

The present invention relates to a process for producing a vinyl ether polymer having a terminal ether gi-oup with a good yield without causing corrosion of the apparatus used for the reaction by hydrogenolysis of a vinyl ether polymer having a terminal acetal group in the presence of a catalyst comprising nickel and specific inorganic oxides. The ether compound produced by the process of the present invention is advantageously used for solvents, adhesives, resins, organic intermediate materials, lubricating oils, insulating oils, and surfactants. As the process for producing an ether from an acetal, for example, a process using a combination of an acid and an alkali metal hydride, a process using a silicon reagent, and a process using diborane, are described in Jikken Kagaku Koza, Volume 20 (the fourth edition, published by Maruzen). However, these processes are not preferred as an industrial process because a stoichiometric amount of an expensive reagent, such as an alkali metal hydride, a silicon reagent, or diborane, is used as the reagent for the hydrogenolysis, and cost of the production is high. An ether can be produced from an acetal also by catalytic hydrogenolysis in the presence of an acid catalyst. W. L. Howard et al. hydrogenolysis of an acetal compound in the presence of a catalyst comprising nickel and specific inorganic oxides. The present invention was completed on the basis of the discovery. The present invention provides a process for producing an ether compound represented by the general formula (II) or (III): and may be the same or different, Rl in a plurality of repeating units may the same or different, and n represents an integer of 1 to 50, which comprises bringing an acetal cotnpound represented by the general formula (I): (III), into reaction with hydrogen in the presence of a solid catalyst comprising (A) nickel in an amount corresponding to 10 to 70 % by weight of metallic nickel, and (B) at least one compound selected from the group consisting of oxides of silicon, aluminum, magnesium, titanium, and zirconium; and synthetic or natural inorganic oxides containing one or more of these oxides as the constituents thereof. The present invention is described in more detail in the following. The compound represented by the general formula (I) is referred to as compound (I) hereinafter. The compounds i-epresented by the general formulae (II) and (III) are also referred to as compound (II) and compound (III), respectively. The catalyst used in the present invention is a solid catalyst comprising nickel and at least one compound selected from the group consisting of oxides of silicon, aluminum, magnesium, titanium, and zirconium; and synthetic or natural inorganic oxides containing one or more of these oxides a= the constituents thereof. The catalyst contains nickel in an amount corresponding to 10 to 70 % by weight of metallic nickel. As the oxide, silica, alumina, magnesia, titania, or zirconia is preferably used. As the synthetic or natural inorganic oxide containing one or more of these oxides as the constituents thereof, silica-alumina, silica-magnesia, zeolite, activated clay, or diatomaceous earth is preferably used. Specific examples of the solid catalyst preferably used in the present invention include nickel-silica-alumina catalysts, nickel-alumina catalysts, nickel-silica-alumina-magnesia catalysts, nickel-zirconia catalysts, and nickel-diatomaceous earth catalysts. The solid catalyst may be used singly or as a combination of two or more types. In the present invention, nickel and the oxide may be simply mixed and used as the catalyst. However, the catalyst is preferably WE CLAIM : 1. A process for producing an ether compound, used for solvents, adhesives, resins, organic intermediate materials, lubricating oils, insulating oils, or surfactants, represented by the general formula (II): carbon atoms and may be the same or different, R in (a plurality of repeating units) the case where n is 2 or more may be the same or different, and n represents an integer of 1 to 50, which comprises bringing an acetal compound represented by the general formula (I): with hydrogen at a temperature of 70 to 200°C under a pressure of 3 to 60 kg/cm continuously in accordance with a fixed bed process in the presence of a solid catalyst comprising (A) nickel in an amount corresponding to 10 to 70% by weight of metallic nickel, and (B) at least one compound selected from the group consisting of oxides of silicon, aluminum, magnesium, titanium, and zirconium; and synthetic or natural inorganic oxides containing one or more of these oxides as the constituents thereof in an amount of 90 to 30%; and wherein the solid catalyst is packed into a fixed bed reactor, and the acetal compound is brought into reaction with hydrogen by introducing the acetal compound continuously into the layer of the packed solid catalyst at an LHSV [a liquid hourly space velocity which is defined as (flow rate of the introduced acetal compound, ml/hr) / (amount of the solid catalyst, ml)] of 0.01 to 10 in combination with hydrogen to continuously produce the ether compound. 2. The process for producing an ether compound according to claim 1, wherein the solid catalyst comprises (A) nickel in an amount corresponding to 10 to 70% by weight of metallic nickel, and (B) at least one oxide selected from the group consisting of silica, alumina, silica-alumina, magnesia, silica-magnesia, titania, zirconia, zeolite, activated clay, and diatomaceous earth. 3. The process for producing an ether compound according to claim 1, wherein the solid catalyst is selected fi"om the group consisting of nickel-silica-alumina catalysts, nickel-alumina catalysts, nickel-silica-alumina-magnesia catalysts, nickel-zirconia catalysts, and nickel-diatomaceous earth catalysts. 4. A process for producing an ether compound substantially as herein described and exemplified.

Documents:

0645-mas-1996 abstract-duplicate.pdf

0645-mas-1996 claims-duplicate.pdf

0645-mas-1996 claims.pdf

0645-mas-1996 correspondence-others.pdf

0645-mas-1996 correspondence-po.pdf

0645-mas-1996 description (complete)-duplicate.pdf

0645-mas-1996 description (complete).pdf

0645-mas-1996 form-2.pdf

0645-mas-1996 form-26.pdf

0645-mas-1996 form-4.pdf

0645-mas-1996 form-6.pdf

0645-mas-1996 others.pdf

0645-mas-1996 petition.pdf