Conventional propylene hydroformylation occurs in a gas‐expanded liquid phase. Reliable knowledge of the phase equilibria of such systems, including the solubilities of CO and H2 in propylene‐expanded solvents, is essential for rational process design and development. Herein, we report the vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) data of the following ternary systems involving CO, H2, propane, propylene, toluene and NX‐795 at temperatures from 70 to 90°C and pressures up to 1.5 MPa: propane/H2/toluene, propane/CO/toluene, propylene/H2/toluene, propylene/CO/toluene, propane/H2/NX‐795, propane/CO/NX‐795, propylene/H2/NX‐795 and propylene/CO/NX‐795. The solubilities of H2 and CO in either propane‐expanded or propylene‐expanded phases are observed to be greater than those in the neat organic solvents, by as high as 78% at 70°C and 1.5 MPa. By modeling the vapor and the liquid phases as pseudo‐binary systems, the Peng‐Robinson equation of state (PR‐EoS) with van der Waals’ mixing rules and binary interaction parameters is shown to satisfactorily predict the experimental VLE data. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 970–980, 2018

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The use of n-butane expanded liquids (BXLs) as reaction media to enhance Co-catalyzed hydroformylation of 1-octene has been successfully demonstrated.

Taurine, 2-aminoethane-1-sulfonic acid, is a commercial amino acid manufactured from either ethylene oxide or monoethanolamine (MEA). Taurine is a valuable nutritional additive that is widely used in the production of energy drinks, pet food, nutritional supplements, and infant formula. The industrial production of taurine from MEA is a two-step batch process in which the first step is the reaction of MEA with sulfuric acid to produce the ester 2-aminoethyl hydrogen sulfate (AES) and the second step is the reaction of AES with a sulfite reagent. This report summarizes the results of a study of the fundamental chemistry for this two-step MEA-based chemical route to taurine as well as the application of this fundamental understanding to a process design for a scalable and cost-advantaged continuous process that is capable of commercial-scale production of taurine on a multikiloton scale. In order to maximize taurine yields, the water formed during the first esterification step must be effectively removed to avoid equilibrium limitations on the conversions of MEA and sulfuric acid to form the solid AES intermediate product. For the second AES sulfonation step in aqueous medium, we found that operation above 100 °C under a moderate pressure of an inert gas resulted in significantly higher taurine yields (>80 mol %) compared to those reported in current commercial production technology (typically 55–65 mol %).