Process for producing polyhydric alcohol

摘要

There is disclosed a process for producing a polyhydric alcohol which comprises reacting an aliphatic aldehyde with formaldehyde in the presence of a base compound consisting essentially of a hydrogencarbonate and a carbonate which have been formed by the oxidation or hydrolysis of a formic acid salt, in particular, the process according to the above process wherein a formic acid salt which has been by-produced by the reaction of an aliphatic aldehyde with formaldehyde is oxidized or hydrolyzed in the presence of a noble metal catalyst or a nickel catalyst in a reductive state to form a base compound consisting essentially of a hydrogencarbonate and a carbonate and this base compound is circulated through the reaction of the aldehyde and formaldehyde and is reused as the base compound. The above process enables easy and highly efficient production of high quality polyhydric alcohols substantially without by-producing a formic acid salt with a low value-added.