Process for reacting olefins with prior separation of the feed stream

A process for reacting olefins having 4 to 20 carbon atoms, comprising:

• a) providing a feed stream comprising at least linear olefins and branched olefins each having a same number of carbon atoms;
• b) dividing the feed stream provided in a) into at least two streams, a stream A and a stream B;
• c) distilling stream A in at least one distillation column to obtain at least one low-boiler phase and one high-boiler phase, where 1% by weight to less than 50% by weight of the distilled stream A is obtained as at least one low-boiler phase and where a proportion of linear olefins in the at least one low-boiler phase is less than a proportion of the linear olefins in the high-boiler phase;
• and
• d) supplying the high-boiler phase from c) to a reaction unit comprising one or more reactors, and carrying out a reaction in the reaction unit, where the reaction is either a heterogeneously catalysed hydroformylation in presence of synthesis gas, a homogeneously catalysed hydroformylation in presence of synthesis gas or a homogeneously catalysed alkoxycarbonylation in presence of carbon monoxide and a C1 to C6 alcohol.