Recently a new low-pressure oxo process in the presence of Rh-TPPTS (trisulfonylphenylphosphine) was commercialized. This process offers high activity and selectivity in the aqueous phase production of butyraldehyde from propylene. But the process suffers from loss of TPPTS by poisoning or leakage from the reactor and it brings regioselectivity lower. As a consequence frequent replacement of catalyst is needed and the production cost increases. To reduce the production cost, the optimal operating condition should be found. However, the literature on the kinetics of hydroformylation in aqueous system is very limited. In this study the model of oxo reaction is set up by parameter estimation and the relation among selectivity, reaction rate and TPPTS concentration is investigated with linear regression analysis. Finally the effect of operating conditions on productivity is discussed in a semi-quantitative manner.
