Process for the epoxidation of propene

Abstract

In a process for the epoxidation of propene, comprising the steps: reacting propene with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a titanium silicalite catalyst and a methanol solvent; separating non-reacted propene and propene oxide from the resulting reaction mixture to provide a solvent mixture comprising methanol and water in a combined amount of at least 90% by weight; and feeding this solvent mixture as a feed stream to a continuously operated methanol distillation column at a feed point in the middle section of said column to provide an overhead product comprising at least 90% by weight methanol and a bottoms product comprising at least 90% by weight water; the addition of a liquid defoamer, having a solubility in the feed stream of less than 10 mg/kg at 25° C. and a surface tension at the liquid air interface of less than 22 mN/m at 20° C., at or above the feed point in an amount exceeding the solubility of the liquid defoamer in the feed stream suppresses foam formation in the methanol distillation column.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.