CONTINUOUSLY PRODUCTION OF PROPYLENE OXIDE AND ANOTHER ALKENE OXIDE

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To epoxidize an olefin safely, effectively and economically by combining a process for forming hydrogen peroxide in an organic solvent and a process for reacting hydrogen peroxide with an alkene in a solvent. SOLUTION: This method comprises (i) a process for oxidizing a secondary alcohol (e.g. 2-popanol) with molecular oxygen or air and (ii) a process for epoxidizing an olefin by formulating the reaction mixture of the process (i) with a solution of the olefin in the presence of a titanium catalyst supported on amorphous silica in an organic solvent (e.g. 2-methyl-2-propanol) at 50-140 deg.C. The titanium catalyst is obtained by impregnating silica having 50-900 m2/g surface area with a solution of a titanium alkoxide and/or titanocene in an organic solvent (e.g. methanol) to which oxygen is added. The silica may be impregnated with a mixture of germanium or vanadium.