Production of oxygen-containing organic compounds

Claim 1

IN A CONTINUOUS PROCESS FOR THE CARBONYLATION OF OLEFINIC COMPOUNDS WITH A GAS COMPRISING CARBON MONOXIDE AND HYDROGEN AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURE AND SUPERATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE IN THE PRESENCE OF A DISSOLVED COBALT CATALYST IN A CARBONYLATION ZONE FOLLOWED BY THE DECOMPOSITION OF COBALT COMPOUNDS DISSOLVED IN THE CARBONYLATION PRODUCT AND PRECIPITATION OF THE COBALT AS METAL BY TREATMENT OF THE CARBONYLATION PRODUCT IN A DECOMPOSITION ZONE WITH HYDROGEN AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES MAINTAINING THE TEMPERATURE RANGE IN THE DECOMPOSITION ZONE WITHIN THE OPTIMUM RANGE DISIRED THERE BY PROVIDING BETWEEN THE OUTLET FROM THE CARBONYLATION MAIN REACTION ZONE AND THE INLET TO THE DECOMPOSITION ZONE AN AUXILIARY ZONE THROUGH WHICH THE CARBONYLATION PRODUCT IS PASSED AND ARRANGING THAT FURTHER CARBONYLATION TO THE EXTEND OF FROM 2 TO 15% OF THE TOTAL CARBONYLATION WHICH OCCURS IN THE SYSTEM OCCURS BETWEEN THE OUTLET FROM THE CARBONYLATION ZONE AND THE INLET TO THE DECOMPOSITION ZONE WHEREBY HEAT IS EVOLVED AND CONTROLLING THE AMOUNT OF THIS FURTHER CARBONYLATION TO MAINTAIN THE LIQUID AT ITS ENTRY TO THE DECOMPOSITION ZONE AT THE DESIRED TEMPERATURE.