Abstract: A process for producing a liquid hydrocarbon product from hydrogen and carbon monoxide comprises: (a) providing a reaction vessel containing a slurry of particles of a particulates Fischer Tropsch catalyst in a liquid medium comprising a hydrocarbon, the particles of catalyst having a particle size range such that no more than about 10% by weight of the particles of catalyst have a particle size which lies in an upper particle size range extending up to a maximum particle size, (b) supplying hydrogen and carbon monoxide to the reaction vessel, (c) maintaining in the reaction vessel reaction conditions effective for conversion of hydrogen and carbon monoxide to a liquid hydrocarbon product by the Fischer Tropsch reaction, (d) maintaining mixing conditions in the reaction vessel sufficient to establish a circulation pattern throughout the reaction vessel including an upflowing path for slurry and a downflowing path for slurry, the upward velocity of the slurry in the upflowing slurry path being greater than abo

Abstract: A process for the co-production of a diol product (e.g. butane-1,4-diol) and a cyclic ether (e.g. tetrahydrofuran) by hydrogenation of an aliphatic diester or lactone feedstock (e.g. dimethyl or diethyl maleate), which contains a minor amount of acidic material, such as the corresponding monoester. The process utilizes a plurality of hydrogenation zones connected in series, each containing a charge of a granular ester hydrogenation catalyst. The catalyst in the first hydrogenation zone is tolerant of a minor amount of acidic material, while the catalyst in the second hydrogenation zone provides enhanced yields of cyclic ethers compared to the catalyst of the first hydrogenation zone. The catalyst in a third hydrogenation zone exhibits low selectivity towards conversion of the diester to at least one by product (e.g. 2-4?-hydroxybutoxy-tetrahydrofuran).

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a novel process for preparing 3-hydroxyesters, comprising: (a) reacting an epoxide derivative with carbon monoxide and alcohol in a solvent at a temperature of 30˜150° C. under a pressure of 50˜3000 psig by using a catalyst system consisting of a catalytic amount of a cobalt compound and optionally an effective amount of a promoter to produce a 3-hydroxyester or a derivative thereof; (b) separating the resulting product and the solvent from the cobalt compound and the promoter in a stripping column at a temperature of −30˜200° C. in an atmosphere of a stabilizing gas; and (c) recycling a part or all of the separated cobalt compound and promoter to the step (a) and repeating the steps (a) through (c).