A brief description of 1,4-Butanediol synthesis method

Description

1,4-Butanediol (BDO) is an important commodity chemical used to manufacture over 2.5 million tons annually of valuable polymers, and it is currently produced exclusively through feedstocks derived from oil and natural gas[1]. BDO is an important raw material in manufacturing spandex, plastics, elastic fibers, and films[2].

Synthesis method

At present, there are five industrialized routes for 1,4-Butanediol (BDO) production: (1) Reppe process, (2) butadiene/acetic acid process, (3) propylene oxide process, (4) direct hydrogenation of n-butane or maleic anhydride, (5) esterification and hydrogenation of n-butane or maleic anhydride. However, the mainstream processes are the Reppe process and the direct hydrogenation of n-butane or maleic anhydride. Nowadays, more than 40% of the total production of BDO is manufactured by the eppe process, and more than 30% of the total production of BDO is manufactured by the direct hydrogenation of maleic anhydride.

Reppe process, also known as acetylene-formaldehyde process, includes two steps: the first step is the reaction of acetylene with formaldehyde to form 1,4-butynediol and the second step is the catalytic hydrogenation of 1,4-butynediol to obtain BDO. The specific reaction process is as follows:

The reppe process is the earliest production method developed for BDO. This process has been improved. It is very suitable for large-scale production of BDO. The advantages include mature technology, low production cost, short process, high product yield, fewer by-products, and low investment. Therefore, it is still the mainstream process for the production of BDO in the world.

References

[1] Jim Philp.“Microbial Resources for Global Sustainability.”Microbial Resources (2017): 77-101.

[2] Lee, Jong An J. Ahn and Sang Yup Lee. “Organic Acids: Succinic and Malic Acids.”Comprehensive Biotechnology (Third Edition) 450 1 (2019): 172-187.

[3] Li, Sifang. “Manufacture of Fine Chemicals from Acetylene.” 2021. 0.