Abstract: 1,4-butanediol is prepared from allyl alcohol containing allyl acetate and water. The allyl alcohol is subjected to a hydroformylation reaction in the presence of an organic solvent, a rhodium complex, and a phosphorous compound under an atmosphere of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, to produce a hydroformylation product, which is extracted with an alkaline aqueous solution in the presence of carbon monoxide and/or hydrogen. After the extraction, an extracted raffinate solution containing the rhodium complex in the organic solvent is recycled through the same hydroformylation process, while the extracted aqueous solution containing the hydroformylation product is subjected to a hydrogenation reaction in the presence of hydrogen, with a hydrogenation catalyst added, to produce 1,4-butanediol.

Abstract: An improved method of catalytic gaseous chemical synthesis of pyridine by reaction of ammonia and a carbonyl compound, preferably with added hydrogen, is described herein. The process employs as the catalyst a crystalline aluminosilicate zeolite which has been ion exchanged with a Group VIII metal of the Periodic Table. The preferred metal is palladium. Suitably, the Group VIII metal is present in an amount of about 0.01% to 5% by weight of the catalyst, preferably 0.1% to 2%. The crystalline aluminosilicate zeolite catalyst suitably has a silica to alumina mole rate of at least 15, preferably 30 to 200, and optimally, about 120 to 150. The process of the invention provides a high and selective yield of pyridine over a prolonged reaction period, and affords facile restorability of the catalyst.