The invention provides methods useful in the industrial scale process for hydrocyanation of butadiene to adiponitrile for recycle of unwanted byproduct 2-methyl-3-butenenitrile (2M3BN) by conversion to process intermediate pentenenitrile. The invention provides a process for generating catalysts useful for carrying out the hydrocyanation of butadiene to adiponitrile, the process comprising contacting the 2M3BN and a solution of a nickel-ligand catalyst in cis-2-pentenenitrile (cis-2PN), trans-2-pentenenitrile (trans-2PN), or a mixture thereof. The improved methods of the invention can provide improved catalyst solubility for bidentate ligands without a requirement for a Lewis acid catalyst promoter such as zinc chloride to be present.
COMPOSITION FOR IMPROVED NICKEL-LIGAND SOLUBILITY
申请人:INVISTA NORTH AMERICA S.A R.L.
公开号:US20150314280A1
公开(公告)日:2015-11-05
In the hydrocyanation reaction of butadiene proceeding through pentenenitriles to adiponitrile, catalysis by complexes of zerovalent nickel with bidentate phosphorus-based ligands of the NiL
2
A type wherein L
2
is a bidentate ligand and A is an unsaturated compound, can be rate-limited by the solubility of the catalytic complex. The present invention concerns solvent compositions for the nickel-ligand complex comprising mixtures of unsaturated nitriles that provide for increased metal solubility, particularly in the absence of a Lewis acid promoter, resulting in higher hydrocyanation reaction rates in an industrial-scale process for production of important nylon manufacturing intermediates. The mixed nitrile solvent compositions can include mixtures of pentenenitriles and/or methylbutenenitriles. The mixtures of mixed unsaturated nitriles can be, at least in part, from recycle streams from the hydrocyanation reaction for which the nickel-bidentate ligand complexes are used as catalysts.