Claims
- 1. In a process for the production of an ester by reacting at elevated temperature an olefin or an olefin oxide with a carboxylic acid in the presence of a catalyst, the improvement which comprises employing as a catalyst a cation-exchangeable layered clay in which some or all of the exchangeable cations have been exchanged with cations of at least one other suitable metal selected from the group consisting of chromium, aluminium, cobalt, nickel, iron, copper and vanadium.
- 2. A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein some or all of the exchangeable cations have been exchanged with aluminium cations.
- 3. A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein some or all of the exchangeable cations have been exchanged with chromium cations.
- 4. A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the exchangeable cations are exchanged by cation-exchanging the cation-exchangeable layered clay with an aqueous solution of a metal salt, separating the metal cation-exchanged layered clay from the aqueous solution of the metal salt, washing until all the extraneous metal cations are removed and drying at a temperature which preserves the lamellar structure.
- 5. A process as claimed in claim 4 wherein cation-exchange is effected at a temperature in the range 0.degree. to 35.degree. C.
- 6. A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the olefin or olefin oxide is selected from the group consisting of ethylene, hex-1-ene, hept-1-ene, oct-1-ene, 4-methyl-pent-1-ene, hex-2-ene and ethylene oxide and the carboxylic acid is selected from acetic acid, propionic acid and isobutyric acid.
- 7. A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the olefin is ethylene, the carboxylic acid is acetic acid and the ester is ethyl acetate.
- 8. A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cation-exchangeable layered clay is a montmorillonite.
- 9. A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the olefin is contacted with the carboxylic acid in the liquid phase.
- 10. A process according to claim 1 wherein the olefin is contacted with the carboxylic acid at a temperature in the range from 100.degree. to 300.degree. C.
- 11. A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the olefin is contacted with the carboxylic acid in the vapour phase.
- 12. A process as claimed in claim 2 wherein the olefin is contacted with the carboxylic acid at a temperature in the range from 120.degree. to 180.degree. C. and a residence time in the range from 10 to 60 seconds.
- 13. A process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the catalyst is a cation-exchangeable dioctahedral layered clay selected from the group consisting of montmorillonites, beidellites, vermiculites and nontronite.
- 14. A process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cation-exchangeable layered clay is bentonite.
- 15. A process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reaction temperature is in the range of from 200.degree. C. to 300.degree. C.
Priority Claims (4)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
7944315 |
Dec 1979 |
GBX |
|
8016384 |
May 1980 |
GBX |
|
8022101 |
Jul 1980 |
GBX |
|
8026028 |
Aug 1980 |
GBX |
|
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 639,696 filed Aug. 13, 1984, now abandoned, which is a divisional of application Ser. No. 416,387 filed on Sept. 9, 1982, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,499,319, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 218,551 filed on Dec. 22, 1980, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
3578609 |
Haag et al. |
May 1971 |
|
4440958 |
Gregory et al. |
Apr 1984 |
|
4593135 |
Gregory |
Jun 1986 |
|
Foreign Referenced Citations (4)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0031687 |
Jul 1981 |
EPX |
3105399 |
Oct 1982 |
DEX |
49-100016 |
Sep 1974 |
JPX |
905854 |
Sep 1962 |
GBX |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
416387 |
Sep 1982 |
|
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
639696 |
Aug 1984 |
|
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
218551 |
Dec 1980 |
|