Soabitol

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MULTIVALENT ALCOHOLS FROM SORBITOL BY CATALYTIC HYDROGENATION CLEAVAGE OF SORBITOL IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION, AT APPROXIMATELY 250*C. AND APPROXIMATELY 350 ATMOSPHERES PRESSURE, IN CONTACT WITH ACTIVATED NICKEL AS CATALYST, WHICH CONSISTS OF SUBJECTING ONLY UP TO 70 PERCENT OF SAID SORBITOL TO SAID HYDROGENATION CLEAVAGE; FOLLOWED BY FILTRATION, COOLING AND CONDUCTING OF THE REACTION MIXTURE THUS OBTAINED AT 10 TO 60*C. OVER AN ANION EXCHANGER IMPREGNATED WITH BORIC ACID, WHEREBY UNREACTED SORBITOL IS ABSORBED ON SAID EXCHANGER, TO THE LATTER''S FULL CAPACITY, REMOVING THE WATER FROM THE REMAINING MIXTURE OF MULTIVALENT ALCOHOLS BY DISTILLATION, WHEREBY THE DISTILLING WATER ENTRAINS GLYCOLS, RECOVERING FROM THE MIXTURE THEN REMAINING THE MULTIVALENT ALCOHOLS PRESENT BY RECTIFICATION, WASHING APPROXIMATELY 20 PERCENT OF THE SORBITOL ABSORBED ON SAID EXCHANGER OFF THE SAME WITH WATER AND RETURNING THE SOLUTION THUS OBTAINED TO SAID HYDROGENATION CLEAVAGE, CONDENSING THE WATER FROM THE DISTILLATION WITH ENTRAINED GLYCOLS AND CONDUCTING THE SAME AT 10-60*C. OVER SAID EXCHANGER WHICH HAD BEEN FREED FROM APPROXIMATELY 20 PERCENT OF SAID SORBITOL, WHEREBY SAID GLYCOLS ARE ABSORBED ON SAID EXCHANGER, DISPLACING SAID GLYCOLS FROM SAID EXCHANGER BY CONDUCTING A FRESH REACTION MIXTURE FROM SAID HYDROGENATION CLEAVAGE OVER SAID EXCHANGER WHICH AGAIN IS LOADED THEREBY TO ITS FULL CAPACITY WITH SORBITOL, AND COMBINING SAID DISPLACED GLYCOLS WITH THE FRESH REACTION MIXTURE FROM WHICH SAID SORBITOL HAD BEEN ABSORBED ON SAID ION EXCHANGER FOR DISTILLATION AND REMOVAL OF WATER.