Overview

Hydroformylation – the addition of a formyl group to an alkene – is one of the most important homogeneously catalyzed-reactions being performed on large industrial scale. Since the pioneer work by Otto Roelen reported already in 1938, in the following decades the process has gained a high importance in chemical industry leading to an annual production volume, which today exceeds 10 million tons. The resulting aldehydes can be used as starting material for a broad product scope in the fields of, e.g., fine chemicals as well as bulk chemicals.

High pressure technologies in our group

To be able to conduct research projects in this field of hydroformylation, we installed a mini-plant for high pressure reactions with syngas several years ago in a specially designed laboratory. The plant includes a multi-reactor system allowing us to set up hydroformylation reactions in parallel with individual pressure and temperature regulation. The plant was set up under high safety standards comprising a gas warning system in order to ensure a safe operation with the extremely toxic synthesis gas (syngas, CO/H2). Besides hydroformylation, this mini-plant has been also used for hydrogenation reactions under high pressure conditions.
Our research interest includes the combination of hydroformylation and hydrogenation with chemo- and biocatalyzed reactions in multi-step syntheses leading to a broad variety of products. So far, most starting materials for hydroformylation reactions are traditionally based on alkenes from petrochemical feedstocks. To find a replacement for these basic building blocks from fossil feedstocks, a further focus of our research activities is on the use of biorenewables as starting materials for such high pressure reactions.