Process for producing phenols
AssigneeMitsui Petrochemical Industries, Ltd.
InventorsFujihisa Matsunaga, Hiroshi Fukuhara, Mitsuki Yasuhara
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Abstract
A process for producing a phenol from the steps of: (a) partially hydrogenating a benzene, followed by separating the reaction mixture into respective components of a cyclohexene, a cyclohexane and a benzene; (b) oxidizing or hydrating the separated a cyclohexene into oxygen-containing compounds of a cyclohexane; (c) dehydrogenating the oxygen-containing compounds of a cyclohexane into a phenol; (d) dehydrogenating the cyclohexane separated in step (a) to convert the cyclohexane into a benzene; and (e) returning a part or all of hydrogen formed in steps (c) and (d) back to step (a).
Claims8
A process for producing a phenol compound selected from the group consisting of phenol and derivatives thereof substituted with at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of an C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl group and a halogen atom said process comprising the steps of:
- (a) partially hydrogenating a benzene compound selected from the group consisting of benzene and derivatives thereof substituted with at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl groups and halogen atoms, followed by separating the reaction mixture into the respective components of the resultant cyclohexene and cyclohexane compounds and the unreacted benzene compound;
- (b) oxidizing or hydrating the separated cyclohexene compound into the corresponding oxygen-containing compound selected from eh group consisting of the corresponding cyclohexanone compound, cyclohexenone compound, cyclohexanol compound and cyclohexenol compound;
- (c) dehydrogenating the oxygen-containing compound into the corresponding phenol compound;
- (d) dehydrogenating the cyclohexane compound separated in step (a) to form the benzene compound;
- (e) returning at least a part of hydrogen formed in dehydrogenation steps (c) and (d) to step (a).
A process for producing a phenol compound selected from the group consisting of phenol and derivatives thereof substituted with at least one substituted selected from the group consisting of a C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl group and a halogen atom said process comprising the steps of:
- (a) partially hydrogenating a benzene compound selected from the group consisting of benzene and derivatives thereof substituted with at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl groups and halogen atoms, followed by separating the reaction mixture into the respective components of the resultant cyclohexane and cyclohexane compounds and th unreacted benzene compound;
- (b) hydrating the separated cyclohexene compounds into the corresponding oxygen-containing compound;
- (c) dehydrogenating the oxygen-containing compound into the corresponding phenol compound;
- (d) dehydrogenating the cyclohexane compound separated in step (a) to from the benzene compound;
- (e) returning at least a pat of hydrogen formed in dehydrogenation steps (c) and (d) to step (a).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.