Process for producing alcohol
It is an object of the present invention to obtain a highly pure alcohol by reducing the aldehyde concentration in the product alcohol efficiently and inexpensively. The invention relates to a process for producing an alcohol including hydrogenating an aldehyde and subjecting the resultant product to distillation/purification, wherein a total amount of oxygen introduced into the distillation/purification step is 0.0034 mol/s or less of oxygen per 1 kg/s of the product alcohol.
1. A process for producing an alcohol, comprising:
hydrogenating an aldehyde; and
subjecting the resultant product to distillation/purification;
wherein:
subjecting the resultant product to distillation/purification comprises employing a pressure-reducing apparatus to control a total amount of oxygen introduced during distillation/purification to an amount of 0.0034 mol/s or less of oxygen per 1 kg/s of the product alcohol.
2. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the aldehyde is an aldehyde having 3 to 10 carbon atoms formed by hydroformylation or a dimerized aldehyde obtained by a further aldol condensation/dehydration reaction of the aldehyde having 3 to 10 carbon atoms formed by hydroformylation.
3. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a distillation column is operated under reduced pressure in the distillation step.
4. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a conversion rate of the aldehyde is 98% or more in the hydrogenation reaction and concentration of the aldehyde contained in the product alcohol is 0.05 wt % or less.
5. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a total amount of oxygen introduced into the distillation/purification step is 0.00024 mol/s or less of oxygen per 1 kg/s of the product alcohol.
6. The process according to claim 2 , wherein a total amount of oxygen introduced into the distillation/purification step is 0.00024 mol/s or less of oxygen per 1 kg/s of the product alcohol.
7. The process according to claim 3 , wherein a total amount of oxygen introduced into the distillation/purification step is 0.00024 mol/s or less of oxygen per 1 kg/s of the product alcohol.
8. The process according to claim 4 , wherein a total amount of oxygen introduced into the distillation/purification step is 0.00024 mol/s or less of oxygen per 1 kg/s of the product alcohol.
9. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the concentration of the aldehyde contained in the product alcohol is 100 ppm or less.
10. The process according to claim 9 , wherein a total amount of oxygen introduced into the distillation/purification step is 0.00024 mol/s or less of oxygen per 1 kg/s of the product alcohol.
11. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the concentration of the aldehyde contained in the product alcohol is 50 ppm or less.
12. The process according to claim 11 , wherein a total amount of oxygen introduced into the distillation/purification step is 0.00024 mol/s or less of oxygen per 1 kg/s of the product alcohol.
13. The process according to claim 1 , wherein said aldehyde comprises one or more members selected from the group consisting of butyraldehyde, nonylaldehyde, 2-ethylhexenal, 2-propylheptenal, and mixtures thereof.
14. The process according to claim 13 , wherein a total amount of oxygen introduced into the distillation/purification step is 0.00024 mol/s or less of oxygen per 1 kg/s of the product alcohol.