Studies on Lactone Formation in Vapor Phase. (I) : Synthesis of γ-Butyrolactone

Abstract

Vapor phase catalytic dehydrogenation of 1,4-butanediol to γ-butyrolactone with reduced copper supported on various carriers was studied. It was found that copper supported on zinc oxide or magnesium oxide was a superior catalyst. In the case of a catalyst consisting of 20% copper and 80% zinc oxide, the yield and space time yield of γ-butyrolactone were 95% and 0.28 at 230∼240°C, respectively.