Recovery of zerovalent nickel complexes
AssigneeE. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company
InventorsWilliam R. Leyendecker, Morris Rapoport
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Process for recovery of zerovalent nickel organophosphorus containing catalyst from a hydrocyanation product stream by controlling the level of unreacted mononitriles in the stream causing the thus treated stream to form two phases and recovering catalyst from the heavier phase.
Claims9
A process for recovery of a catalyst comprising zerovalent nickel and organophosphorus ligand from a dinitrile hydrocyanation product fluid containing unreacted mononitriles wherein the recovered catalyst has a ligand to nickel ratio lower than the ligand to nickel ratio of the catalyst in the product fluid which process comprises controlling the level of unreacted mononitriles in the product fluid from the hydrocyanation to about 3-20% by weight based upon the weight of the product fluid and the ligand to nickel molar ratio less than about 9/1, causing the thus treated stream to form two phases, separating the phases and returning at least a portion of the heavier phase to the hydrocyanation reaction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.