Process for the preparation of tertiary alcohols by the hydration of tertiary olefins in a reactive rectification using a structured multi-purpose packing

1. A process for the preparation of tertiary alcohols comprising reacting tertiary olefins having the same number of carbon atoms as the tertiary alcohols to be prepared with water in a heterogeneous reactive rectification in the presence of an acidic cation exchanger, the process being performed in the presence of structured catalytic multi-purpose packings which have sections serving for material separation and sections serving as second functionality elements, wherein said sections serving as second functionality elements have a compartmental structure in which said acidic cation exchanger is contained.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the tertiary alcohols to be prepared are C 4 to C 8 alcohols.

3. The process of claim 2 , wherein the alcohols to be prepared are C 5 to C 7 alcohols.

4. The process of claim 3 , wherein the alcohol to be prepared is tertiary amyl alcohol and the tertiary olefin is isoamylene.

5. The process of claim 1 or 2 , wherein the acidic cation exchanger is selected from the group consisting of a sulfonated phenol-formaldehyde resin, a sulfonated cumarone-indene condensation product, sulfonated polystyrene or a sulfonated styrene-divinylbenzene resin in their respect H* forms.

6. The process of claim 5 , wherein the sulfonated styrene-divinylbenzene resin has a degree of cross-linking (divinylbenzene content) of from 2 to 65% by weight.

7. The process of claim 6 , wherein the degree of cross-linking is from 8 to 25% by weight.

8. The process of claim 1 , wherein the acidic cation exchanger is loaded with such an amount of total feed mixture of tertiary olefin and water that a liquid hourly space velocity of 0.05-1 | of feed mixture per liter of catalyst per hour, is achieved.

9. The process of claim 8 , wherein the liquid hourly space velocity is 0.1-0.4 | of feed mixture per liter of catalyst per hour.

10. The process of claim 1 , wherein the amount of water employed is superstoichiometric, equimolar or substoichiometric, based on the tertiary olefin.

11. The process of claim 10 , where an excess of water of from 10 to 90 mole percent is employed.

12. The process of claim 11 , wherein the excess of water is from 30 to 70 mole percent.

13. The process of claim 4 , wherein an excess of water of from 40 to 50 mole percent, based on the isoamylene is used for the preparation of the tertiary amyl alcohol.

14. The process of claim 1 , wherein the structured multi-purpose packings contain material separation elements and second functionality elements provided in alternate layers, the material separation elements have a profiled surface, and each of the second functionality elements having two or more closed chambers provided on top of each other and filled with the acidic cation exchanger, a space being provided between any two of the chambers, which space is bridged by a section conducting a liquid, the walls of the second functionality elements being constituted of metal-wire cloth.