Process for producing 1,3-butanediol and for optionally further producing (R)-3-hydroxybutyl (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate
AssigneeArcher Daniels Midland Company
InventorsPaul D. Bloom, Chi-Cheng Ma, Kevin J. Martin, Brennan Smith
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Abstract
A process is described for producing 1,3-butanediol, wherein an ester of poly-(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate such as formed by transesterification with an alcohol is reduced by hydrogenation in the presence of a skeletal copper-based catalyst to provide 1,3-butanediol. The 1,3-butanediol may be transesterified by reaction with additional poly-(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate ester to produce (R)-3-hydroxybutyl (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate.
Claims10
A process for producing 1,3-butanediol, comprising contacting an ester of poly-(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate with a source of hydrogen in the presence of a skeletal copper-based catalyst under elevated temperature conditions, wherein the term ester of poly-(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate refers to an ester formed by reaction of poly-(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate with an alcohol and wherein the term skeletal copper-based catalyst refers to a porous catalytic alloy based material comprising copper and aluminum.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.