CONTINUOUS INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION OF UNSATURATED ALIPHATIC ALDEHYDES IN A TUBE BUNDLE REACTOR

摘要

A process for continuous industrial production of unsaturated aliphatic aldehydes having a boiling range from 95 to 136.degree.C by oxidative dehydrogenation of the corresponding alcohols with an oxygen-comprising gas over a supported catalyst consisting of copper, silver and/or gold on an inert support in a tube bundle reactor, rapid cooling of the reaction gases and removal of the aldehydes from the resulting condensate with recycling of the unconverted alcohols comprises a) vaporizing the alcohol, b) admixing the alcohol vapor with an oxygen-comprising gas, c) initially passing the resulting oxygen-comprising alcohol vapor at above the dew point of the alcohol but below the commencement temperature of the reaction through a layer of one of the abovementioned supported catalysts which is at least 0.5 cm in thickness and only then d) reacting the oxygen-comprising alcohol vapor at from 300 to 600.degree.C in a sufficient number, for the desired capacity, of parallel reaction tubes surrounded by a fluidic heat transfer medium, packed with the supported catalyst and having an internal diameter D of from about 0.5 to 3 cm and a length of at least 5 cm, to form the corresponding aldehyde.