# US 2016/0257635 A1 · Hydroformylation process > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2016/0257635 A1 - Document ID: US20160257635A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/032,068 - Filed: 2014-12-09 - Published: 2016-09-08 - Earliest claimed: 2013-12-19 - Assignees: DOW TeECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS LLC - Applicants: DOW TeECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS LLC - Inventors: Thomas C. Eisenschmid; Morteza Mokhtarzadeh; Cloid R. Smith, III; Michael C. Becker; George R. Phillips; Michael A. Brammer; Glenn A. Miller; Rick B. Watson; Irvin B. Cox; Edward A. Lord; Martin Lucas Smidt - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20160257635A1 ## CPC - C07C 45/50: by oxo-reactions - B01J 31/24: Phosphines {, i.e. phosphorus bonded to only carbon atoms, or to both carbon and hydrogen atoms, including e.g. sp2-hybridised phosphorus compounds such as phosphabenzene, phosphole or anionic phospholide ligands} - C07C 45/78: Separation; Purification; Stabilisation; Use of additives - C07C 45/82: by distillation - B01J 2231/321: Hydroformylation, metalformylation, carbonylation or hydroaminomethylation - B01J 2531/822: Rhodium - Y02P 20/582: Recycling of unreacted starting or intermediate materials - C07C: ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS - B01J: CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS - Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS ## Abstract A multi-reaction train hydroformylation process wherein a common product-catalyst separation zone is employed. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A hydroformylation process comprising contacting in a first reactor train CO, H2, and a first feed stream comprising an olefin in the presence of a hydroformylation catalyst in a reaction fluid under hydroformylation conditions sufficient to form at least one aldehyde product, contacting in at least one additional reactor train CO, H2, and at least one additional feed stream comprising an olefin, in the presence of a hydroformylation catalyst in a reaction fluid under hydroformylation conditions sufficient to form at least one aldehyde product, wherein the additional reactor train is operated in parallel to the first train, and removing an effluent stream comprising the reaction fluid from each train and passing the effluent streams from at least 2 reactor trains to a common product-catalyst separation zone, wherein the composition of the first feed stream is different from the composition of at least one additional feed stream. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 further comprising conducting separation in the separation zone to produce a product stream and a catalyst-containing liquid recycle stream, splitting the recycle stream into a first recycle stream and a second recycle stream, and returning the first recycle stream at least partially to one reaction train and returning the second recycle stream at least partially to another reaction train. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The process of claim 2 wherein at least a portion of the liquid recycle stream is sent to the second train and the liquid effluent stream from the second train is at least partially sent to the first train and at least partially sent to the product-catalyst separation zone. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 wherein the separating in the common product-catalyst separation zone comprises vaporization, wherein the term vaporization refers to unit operations which are selected from the group consisting of solvent extraction, membrane separation, crystallization, phase separation or decanting, filtration, distillation, and any combination thereof. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 wherein at least one train produces at least one process or effluent stream, and at least part of the process or effluent stream is added to at least one reactor in the other train. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 wherein the second train produces at least one vapor stream, at least part of which is sent to at least one reactor in the first train. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 wherein the effluent stream from the second train is sent to a reaction zone in the first train that is downstream of the first reaction zone in the first train. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 wherein the olefin of the first feed stream is selected from the group consisting of propylene, ethylene, and mixtures thereof. ### Claim 9 (canceled) ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 wherein the olefin of the first feed stream comprises propylene and the olefin of the second feed stream comprises butene. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 wherein the reaction temperature of at least one reaction zone of each train is controlled in response to a combination of the olefin feed rate, olefin concentration, and concentration of catalytic metal for each relevant zone. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 wherein the concentration of the catalyst within each train is changed in response to changes in the olefin feed rate to either train. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 wherein the catalyst comprises a catalytic metal chosen from Rh, Co, Ir, Ru, Fe, Ni, Os, Pt or Pd and an organophosphorous ligand, and the concentration of catalytic metal in the first reactor train is controlled by measuring the concentration of catalytic metal in at least one reactor and/or at least one of the recycle streams and controlling the flow rate of at least one recycle stream. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The process of claim 13 where the concentration of the catalytic metal is measured by atomic absorption, X-ray fluorescence, or inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy and/or measuring in at least one recycle stream components of the catalyst that correlate with the rhodium metal concentration by GC, UV-vis and/or HPLC. ### Claim 15 (depends on 2) The process of claim 2 wherein the amount of the first recycle stream, relative to the second recycle stream, is determined by inferential means based on observed reactor temperature, olefin and CO partial pressures, and total pressure to control the olefin partial pressure to within a desired range. ### Claim 16 (depends on 4) The process of claim 4, wherein the olefin in the first reactor train is lighter than the olefin of the at least one additional reactor train.