HIGH-PURITY 1,3-BUTYLENE GLYCOL, PROCESS FOR PRODUCING 1,3-BUTYLENE GLYCOL, AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING BY-PRODUCT BUTANOL AND BUTYL ACETATE

摘要

1,3-Butylene glycol which has a high purity and is free from the problem of odor; and a process for producing the 1,3-butylene glycol. The process in which an acetaldol obtained by the condensation of acetaldehyde is hydrogenated in the presence of a catalyst to synthesize 1,3-butylene glycol is characterized by using a means selected among (1) to use a Raney nickel having high hydrogenation activity as a catalyst for the hydrogenation, (2) to conduct the condensation reaction in the presence of a basic catalyst and conduct the hydrogenation reaction in an acidic system, (3) to make the crude hydrogenation reaction mixture basic, distill off the alcohol, and then distill the residue, and (4) to treat a 1,3-butylene glycol fraction obtained by distilling the crude hydrogenation reaction mixture with ozone. Also provided are a method in which the butanol yielded as a by-product in the production of 1,3-butylene glycol is purified by a chemical treatment and a process for producing butyl acetate from the purified butanol.