A Novel Reactive Distillation Process for the Indirect Hydration of Cyclohexene to Cyclohexanol Using a Reactive Entrainer

In the conventional process for cyclohexanol production, large amounts of energy are consumed and a considerable quantity of side products is formed. In addition, the process is inherently unsafe. The alternative process of cyclohexene direct hydration requires large amounts of catalyst to overcome kinetic limitations. This publication shows the feasibility of a new route from cyclohexene to cyclohexanol by means of reactive distillation using formic acid as a reactive entrainer. This allows overcoming kinetic limitations with moderate amounts of catalyst and makes large-scale cyclohexanol production by reactive distillation an interesting alternative. The suggested coupled reactive distillation process allows producing cyclohexanol in an inherently safe and energetically advantageous way without incurring significant amounts of side products.