Selection of optimal conditions for carrying out the reaction of hexene-1 metathesis

Scientific and technical progress in the organic synthesis industry is largely based on both the improvement of existing production facilities and the development and implementation of new, more efficient processes for obtaining hydrocarbon compounds that meet modern consumer requirements. The discovery of the metathesis reaction was a significant event in chemistry, since it became possible to selectively convert some olefins into others of greater or lesser molecular weight. Intensive research into the possibilities of metathesis was accompanied not only by the development of serious theoretical and practical results, but also stimulated the development of work in the field of catalytic reactions of various hydrocarbons. In addition, the metathesis reaction of higher olefins is a highly efficient mechanism for the synthesis of various hydrocarbons, including those that are very problematic to synthesize using classical methods. Problems associated with the development of efficient methods for isomerization and disproportionation of olefins are relevant. The previously performed thermodynamic calculation allowed to significantly narrow the search area for the optimal conditions for carrying out the metathesis of hexene-1, limiting it to the temperature ranges of 110-160 °C and pressure of 0.7-1.0 MPa. To select the optimal conditions for the hexene-1 metathesis reaction, a study was conducted of the dependence of the process parameters on the reaction temperature and the mass flow rate of the feedstock. The effect of temperature on the main parameters of the liquid-phase metathesis of hexene-1 was studied on various aluminum-molybdenum catalysts. The optimal process conditions were selected: temperature of 120-130 °C, mass flow rate of the feedstock of 4-4.5 h–1, pressure of 0.7-1.0 MPa. In this case, the total conversion of hexene-1 into olefins is about 65% with a selectivity close to 70%.