Preparation of alcohols

Claim 1

A process for the selective preparation of an alcohol hydroformylation product to the substantial exclusion of an aldehyde from a dehydrogenatable aliphatic paraffinic hydrocarbon possessing from 2 to about 30 carbon atoms which comprises the steps of: (a) dehydrogenating said aliphatic paraffinic hydrocarbon in a dehydrogenation zone in the presence of from about 0.01 to about 2.0 wt. % of a noble metal of Group VIII of the Periodic Table in the elemental metallic state, from about 0.1 to about 5.0 wt. % of at least one element selected from Groups IA and IIA of the Periodic Table present in an oxidation state and from about 0.01 to about 5.0 wt. % of at least one element selected from Groups IVA, VA and VIIB of the Periodic Table present in an oxidation state composited on a porous alumina or silica carrier material to produce a reaction product comprising vaporous light ends and a liquid dehydrogenation effluent mixture comprising both aliphatic olefinic hydrocarbons and aliphatic paraffinic hydrocarbons; (b) transferring said vaporous light ends and said liquid dehydrogenation products to a gas-liquid separation zone; (c) separating said vaporous light ends from said liquid dehydrogenation effluent mixture comprising both aliphatic olefinic and aliphatic paraffinic hydrocarbons; (d) passing said liquid dehydrogenation effluent mixture without any separation of said aliphatic olefinic hydrocarbon from aliphatic paraffinic hydrocarbon to a hydroformylation zone; (e) hydroformylating said liquid dehydrogenation effluent mixture at hydroformylation conditions which include a temperature in the range of from about 50 to about 350° C. and a pressure in the range of from about 10 up to less than 300 atmospheres by treating said mixture with carbon monoxide and hydrogen in the presence of both a hydroformylation catalyst consisting essentially of a rhodium carbonyl compound and a promoter comprising a trialkyl-substituted amine in which all three of said alkyl moieties are substituted to the nitrogen atom of said amine; and (f) recovering the selectively produced alcohol.