2012 AIChE Annual Meeting

(656b) Coupling Homogeneous Reactions with Heterogeneous Separations Toward Sustainable Production of Pharmaceuticals

Authors

Ali Z. Fadhel, Georgia Institute of Technology
Elizabeth J. Biddinger, Georgia Institute of Technology
Pamela Pollet, Georgia Institute of Technology
Charles L. Liotta, Georgia Institute of Technology
William Heaner, Georgia Institute of Technology
Aman A. Desai, The Dow Chemical Company


Designing changes in phase equilibria enables the facile and efficient recovery of homogeneous catalysts and their subsequent recycle.  Organic-Aqueous Tunable Solvents (OATS) can be used to couple homogeneous reactions (fast rates and high selectivity) with heterogeneous separations. Upon reaction completion, the separation is simply conducted by applying CO2 pressure to manipulate the phase behavior of the initial monophasic organic−water mixtures. As a result, a phase split can be induced resulting in two phases:  one organic-rich and one aqueous-rich phase.  The products are separated at this stage (organic-rich phase) from the catalysts-containing phase which can now be recycled. Several examples will be presented and discussed, including the Rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation of model compounds applicable to the synthesis of ibuprofen.  We will demonstrate that very modest CO2 pressures (around 3 MPa) enable the recovery of up to 99% of the product and 99.9 % of the relatively hydrophobic catalyst. The presentation will be aimed at demonstrating the breath of OATS technology to develop alternative strategies toward the sustainable production of pharmaceuticals.