| abstract |
A method for removing cobalt values from the crude product of a cobalt-catalyzed hydroformylation reaction which utilizes the same equipment in two different operating sequences to accommodate olefinic feedstocks having a wide range of carbon numbers. Olefinic feedstocks having a carbon number in the range C 4 -C 14 , more preferably C 5 -C 7 , can be decobalted by the application of an acid-air cobalt demetalling step upstream of the stripping step of a Cobalt Flash hydroformylation catalyst recovery process; whereas C 7 to C 20 olefinic feedstocks, more preferably C 8 -C 14 , can be decobalted by application of the acid-air cobalt demetalling step downstream of the stripping step. |