Supported ionic liquid phase (SILP) catalyzed hydroformylation of 1-butene in a gradient-free loop reactor

The supported ionic liquid phase (SILP) catalysis technology was applied to gas-phase hydroformylation of 1-butene using sulfoxantphos 1 modified rhodium complexes. Kinetic experiments were performed in a fixed bed reactor and compared to a gradient-free gas-phase loop reactor (Berty type). The influence of substrate concentration, temperature and syngas pressure was determined. Data from fixed bed and Berty reactor were found to be in good agreement with respect to activation energy and reaction order. Ex-situ NMR studies of fresh and used SILP catalysts confirmed that the ligand remained intact after prolonged time on stream.