Abstract: Disclosed is a process for recovering formic acid from a formate ester of a C3 to C4 alcohol. Disclosed is also a process for producing formic acid by carbonylating a C3 to C4 alcohol, hydrolyzing the formate ester of the alcohol, and recovering a formic acid product. The alcohol may be dried and returned to the reactor. The process enables a more energy efficient production of formic acid than the carbonylation of methanol to produce methyl formate.

Abstract: Disclosed is a process for recovering formic acid from a formate ester of a C3 to C4 alcohol. Disclosed is also a process for producing formic acid by carbonylating a C3 to C4 alcohol, hydrolyzing the formate ester of the alcohol, and recovering a formic acid product. The alcohol may be dried and returned to the reactor. The process enables a more energy efficient production of formic acid than the carbonylation of methanol to produce methyl formate.

Abstract: Waterborne latexes are commonly used in a variety of coatings including architectural, industrial, paper, and many others. Many coatings would benefit from an incorporated optical whitening or brightening agent. Most common optical brighteners can not be incorporated directly into a water-based system due to their insufficient solubility in water. This report describes a technique for incorporating optical brighteners directly into a water-based latex system using a mini-emulsion polymerization process. Coatings made from these latexes exhibit significant optical whitening/brightening characteristics which greatly enhance the appearance of the coated substrate.