Continuous hydroformylation of olefinically unsaturated compounds

Claim 1

In a process for the manufacture of aldehydes and alcohols by continuous hydroformylation of an olefinically unsaturated compound having up to 12 carbon atoms with carbon monoxide and hydrogen, said process being carried out in a hydroformylation reactor under a pressure from 2 to 30 bar and at a temperature from 80° to 130° C. in the presence of a rhodium complex catalyst which contains, as ligands, sparingly volatile compounds of the formula ##STR4## where A is phosphorus, arsenic, antimony or bismuth and R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are each organic radicals and by subsequent separation of said aldehydes and alcohols from the hydroformylation reaction mixture, the improvement which comprises: introducing the hydroformylation mixture as a crude reaction product consisting of both its liquid and gaseous components from the reactor into a devolatilization column; devolatilizing said mixture in said column for a short time at a temperature which is higher and/or at a pressure which is lower than that prevailing in the hydroformylation reactor, and at the same time separating said reaction mixture in said column into a gas phase and a liquid phase; cooling the gas phase from said column and conducting it to a separator to recover (a) a liquid product containing the produced aldehydes and alcohols and (b) a recycle gas; and recycling part of the gas from said separator to said reactor after removing a waste gas therefrom, and also recycling at least part of the liquid phase from the devolatilization column to said reactor.