High-pressure phase equilibrium for the hydroformylation of 1-octene to nonanal in compressed CO2

The hydroformylation reaction in supercritical carbon dioxide or CO2-expanded liquids (CXLs) has many advantageous properties. However, accurate phase behavior and equilibrium must be known to properly understand and engineer these systems. In this investigation, the vapor–liquid equilibrium and mixture critical points of CO2 systems with 1-octene, nonanal, 1-octene and nonanal mixtures, and mixtures of 1-octene, nonanal and syngas (CO/H2) were measured at 60 °C up to 120 bar of pressure. The Peng–Robinson equation of state with van der Waals two-parameter mixing rule was employed successfully to correlate the binary mixture data and predict the ternary mixture data. The presence of CO/H2 pressure increased the mixture critical points and decreased the volume expansion at any given pressure. In an actual reaction, the mixture critical point would increase throughout the reaction, while the volume of the liquid phase would decrease. These data will aid the understanding and reaction engineering for the hydroformylation reaction in CO2-expanded liquids and supercritical fluids.