阅读说明：本技术 乙交酯的制造方法 (Method for producing glycolide ) 是由 山路晴康 山土井雄大 铃木义纪 小野利彦 于 2019-03-06 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明的目的在于,提供一种乙交酯的制造方法,其能够充分提高乙交酯的生成速度。本发明的乙交酯的制造方法包括：将金属钛添加至乙醇酸水溶液中的工序；使添加有所述金属钛的乙醇酸水溶液中所含的乙醇酸脱水缩聚,得到乙醇酸低聚物的工序；以及加热所述乙醇酸低聚物,使所述乙醇酸低聚物解聚,从而得到乙交酯的工序。(An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing glycolide, which can sufficiently increase the rate of glycolide production. The method for producing glycolide of the present invention comprises: adding metallic titanium to an aqueous glycolic acid solution; a step of dehydrating and polycondensing glycolic acid contained in an aqueous glycolic acid solution to which the metal titanium is added to obtain a glycolic acid oligomer; and heating the glycolic acid oligomer to depolymerize the glycolic acid oligomer, thereby obtaining glycolide.)

1. A method for producing glycolide, comprising:

adding metallic titanium to an aqueous glycolic acid solution;

a step of dehydrating and polycondensing glycolic acid contained in an aqueous glycolic acid solution to which the metal titanium is added to obtain a glycolic acid oligomer; and

heating the glycolic acid oligomer to depolymerize the glycolic acid oligomer, thereby obtaining glycolide.

2. The method for producing glycolide according to claim 1, wherein,

the amount of the metal titanium added is 1ppm to 10000ppm, based on the total mass of glycolic acid.

3. The method for producing glycolide according to claim 1 or 2, wherein,

the metal titanium is titanium powder.

4. The method for producing glycolide according to claim 3, wherein,

the average particle diameter of the titanium powder is less than 100 mu m.

5. The method for producing glycolide according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein,

the temperature of dehydration polycondensation is 50 ℃ to 300 ℃.

6. The method for producing glycolide according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein,

the depolymerization is carried out in an organic solvent.

7. The method for producing glycolide according to claim 6, wherein,

the organic solvent contains polyalkylene glycol ether represented by the following formula (1),

[ chemical formula 1]

X-O-(-R-O-)p-Y (1)

In the formula (1), the reaction mixture is,

r represents a methylene group or a linear or branched alkylene group having 2 to 8 carbon atoms,

x and Y each independently represent an alkyl group or an aryl group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms,

p represents an integer of 1 to 5,

when p is 2 or more, R's may be the same or different.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method for producing glycolide.

Background

Polyglycolic acid is a resin material excellent in biodegradability, gas barrier properties, strength and the like, and is widely used in the technical fields of medical polymer materials such as sutures, artificial skins and the like, packaging materials such as bottles, films and the like, resin materials for various industrial products such as injection-molded articles, fibers, vapor-deposited films, fishing lines and the like, and the like.

Such polyglycolic acid is required to have a high degree of polymerization depending on the application. Polyglycolic acid having a high degree of polymerization can be produced by a method of ring-opening polymerization of glycolide. Further, it is required to reduce the production cost of polyglycolic acid and to mass-produce glycolide as a raw material, that is, to produce glycolide at a high production rate.

Glycolide can be produced by the following steps: 1) dehydrating and polycondensing glycolic acid to obtain a glycolic acid oligomer (dehydration and polycondensation step); and 2) depolymerizing the obtained glycolic acid oligomer (depolymerization step).

As a method for producing glycolide with high yield or high efficiency, for example, the following methods are proposed: a depolymerization reaction of a glycolic acid oligomer is carried out in the presence of tin octylate as a catalyst (for example, patent document 1); the depolymerization reaction of glycolic acid oligomer was carried out by reacting titanium alkoxide (Ti (OH) as a catalyst₄) And (c) in the presence of a dissolved methoxyethanol solution (for example, patent document 2).

Further, there is known a method of subjecting a 70% aqueous glycolic acid solution to dehydration polycondensation while slowly heating the solution to 150 ℃ in a titanium reaction vessel, and then heating the resulting glycolic acid oligomer under reduced pressure to depolymerize the solid phase thereof (for example, patent document 3).

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, in the methods for producing glycolide disclosed in patent documents 1 and 2, the rate of glycolide production is insufficient. In addition, in the method for producing glycolide disclosed in patent document 3, although glycolide can be produced satisfactorily, from the viewpoint of reducing the production cost of polyglycolic acid having a high degree of polymerization, it is required to further increase the production rate of glycolide as a raw material.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a method for producing glycolide, which can sufficiently increase the rate of glycolide production.

Technical scheme

The method for producing glycolide of the present invention comprises: adding metallic titanium to an aqueous glycolic acid solution; a step of dehydrating and polycondensing glycolic acid contained in an aqueous glycolic acid solution to which the metal titanium is added to obtain a glycolic acid oligomer; and heating the glycolic acid oligomer to depolymerize the glycolic acid oligomer, thereby obtaining glycolide.

Advantageous effects

According to the present invention, a method for producing glycolide can be provided, which can sufficiently increase the rate of glycolide production.

Detailed Description

The present inventors have focused on adding titanium metal as a catalyst. In order to increase the rate of glycolide production, a catalyst is usually added in the depolymerization step. The depolymerization step is preferably carried out in an organic solvent from the viewpoint of producing glycolide stably in a large amount. However, even if metal titanium is added in the depolymerization step, metal titanium cannot be dissolved in an organic solvent, and thus cannot effectively function.

In contrast, in the present invention, metallic titanium is added to the aqueous glycolic acid solution used in the dehydration polycondensation step. Since metallic titanium is not generally dissolved in an aqueous solution, but since the aqueous glycolic acid solution has a low pH, metallic titanium can be satisfactorily dissolved in an aqueous glycolic acid solution to obtain an aqueous glycolic acid solution containing titanium ions. On the other hand, when a conventional titanium-based catalyst such as a titanium alkoxide or a carboxylate of titanium described in patent document 2 is added to an aqueous glycolic acid solution, the titanium-based catalyst is hydrolyzed and precipitated, and does not function as a catalyst.

In the present invention, it is considered that the dehydration polycondensation reaction speed can be increased by the catalytic action of the titanium ion by performing the dehydration polycondensation step using an aqueous glycolic acid solution containing the dissolved and precipitated titanium ion. Further, unlike conventional titanium catalysts such as titanium carboxylates and titanium alkoxides, the titanium ions are not affected by ligands and are therefore likely to be highly dispersed in the glycolic acid oligomer obtained. It is considered that the rate of the depolymerization reaction can be effectively increased by the catalytic action of the titanium ion by performing the depolymerization step using the glycolic acid oligomer as described above. In particular, by adding metal titanium to an aqueous glycolic acid solution and supplying the metal titanium to a glycolic acid oligomer, titanium (titanium ions) in a highly active state can be supplied to the glycolic acid oligomer. As a result, it is considered that even if the amount of the catalyst is small, the catalyst function is easily obtained, and the glycolide production rate can be dramatically increased.

The metal titanium may be added by "heating an aqueous glycolic acid solution in a reaction vessel having at least an inner surface made of titanium or an alloy thereof and maintaining the heated aqueous glycolic acid solution at a temperature lower than the boiling point". This also enables a dramatic increase in the glycolide production rate.

The reason for this is considered as follows. That is, since the pH of the aqueous glycolic acid solution is low, while the aqueous glycolic acid solution is maintained at a temperature lower than the boiling point, titanium is dissolved and precipitated into the aqueous glycolic acid solution from the inner surface of the reaction vessel. In this manner, it is considered that the speed of the dehydration polycondensation reaction is increased by the catalytic action of the titanium ions by performing the dehydration polycondensation step using the aqueous glycolic acid solution containing the dissolved and precipitated titanium ions. In addition, titanium ions were also dispersed well in the obtained glycolic acid oligomer. It is considered that the rate of the depolymerization reaction is also increased by the catalytic action of the titanium ion by performing the depolymerization step using such a glycolic acid oligomer. As a result, the glycolide production rate is considered to be dramatically increased.

In this way, the titanium ions dissolved and precipitated from the reaction vessel are easily dispersed in the glycolic acid aqueous solution and the produced glycolic acid oligomer, and thus the catalytic action is easily and effectively obtained.

1. Method for producing glycolide

The method for producing glycolide of the present invention comprises the steps of: 1) adding metallic titanium to an aqueous glycolic acid solution (metallic titanium addition step); 2) dehydrating and polycondensing glycolic acid contained in an aqueous glycolic acid solution to which metal titanium is added to obtain a glycolic acid oligomer (dehydrating and polycondensing step); and 3) heating the obtained glycolic acid oligomer to depolymerize the glycolic acid oligomer, thereby obtaining glycolide (depolymerization step).

Step 1) (Metal titanium addition step)

Titanium metal was added to the aqueous glycolic acid solution. Thereby, at least a part of the metal titanium was dissolved in the glycolic acid aqueous solution.

The aqueous glycolic acid solution is an aqueous solution containing glycolic acid. Glycolic acid can be an ester (e.g., a lower alkyl ester), a salt (e.g., a sodium salt), and the like.

The content of glycolic acid is, for example, preferably 1 mass% to 99 mass%, more preferably 50 mass% to 90 mass% with respect to the total mass of the aqueous glycolic acid solution.

The metallic titanium is titanium that can contain other components than titanium, but from the viewpoint of suppressing unnecessary reactions due to components other than titanium, the content of other components is preferably 10 mass% or less of titanium. The form of the metallic titanium may be powder, plate, wire (coil, reel, etc.), or block as long as it can be charged into the reactor. Among them, the metal titanium is preferably in a powdery form, i.e., titanium powder, from the viewpoint of easy uniform dispersion in the glycolic acid aqueous solution.

The average particle size of the titanium powder is not particularly limited, but is, for example, 100 μm or less, specifically, preferably 1 μm or more and 100 μm or less, and more preferably 50 μm or less, from the viewpoint of easy uniform dispersion in an aqueous glycolic acid solution. The average particle diameter of the titanium powder can be measured as an arithmetic mean of volume-averaged particle size distribution by a particle size distribution measuring apparatus.

The amount of the metal titanium to be added is not particularly limited, and is preferably adjusted so that the amount of the metal titanium to be added is within a range to be described later with respect to the total mass of the glycolic acid oligomer produced in the step 2). Specifically, the amount of the metal titanium to be added is preferably 1ppm or more and 1000ppm or less, more preferably 5ppm or more and 400ppm or less, and still more preferably 10ppm or more and 50ppm or less, based on the total mass of glycolic acid. When the amount of the metal titanium added is a certain amount or more, the rate of dehydration polycondensation reaction of glycolic acid and depolymerization reaction of glycolic acid oligomer are easily increased, and as a result, the rate of glycolide formation is easily increased. When the amount of the metallic titanium added is a certain amount or less, the dissolution residual of the metallic titanium is easily reduced, and the recovery cost is easily reduced, but when the amount is too small, the catalytic effect is not easily obtained.

From the viewpoint of easily dissolving the metal titanium uniformly, the metal titanium may be added while heating the glycolic acid aqueous solution. From the same viewpoint, the metal titanium can be added while stirring the aqueous glycolic acid solution.

This step may be performed before step 2), or may be performed simultaneously with step 2).

The addition of metallic titanium is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be performed by 1') adding an aqueous glycolic acid solution to a reaction vessel having at least an inner surface made of titanium or an alloy thereof, heating the reaction vessel, and maintaining the reaction vessel at a temperature lower than the boiling point of the glycolic acid solution (heat-retention step) instead of 1) step (metallic titanium addition step).

Regarding the step 1') (Heat insulation step)

First, an aqueous glycolic acid solution is charged into a reaction vessel having at least the inner surface made of titanium or an alloy thereof.

The reaction vessel having at least the inner surface made of titanium or an alloy thereof may be a reaction vessel made of titanium or an alloy thereof, or a reaction vessel having the inner surface made of another metal such as stainless steel and the like covered with a layer made of titanium or an alloy thereof. Among these, titanium and titanium alloys are preferable from the viewpoint of easy expression of the catalytic action by titanium, and the inner surface of a reaction vessel made of titanium or a reaction vessel made of another metal is preferably covered with a titanium layer. Further, a titanium reaction vessel is more preferable in that it can withstand heat and temperature for a long time.

The aqueous glycolic acid solution is an aqueous solution containing glycolic acid. Glycolic acid can be an ester (e.g., a lower alkyl ester), a salt (e.g., a sodium salt), and the like.

The content of glycolic acid is, for example, preferably 1 mass% to 99 mass%, more preferably 50 mass% to 90 mass% with respect to the total mass of the aqueous glycolic acid solution.

From the viewpoint of easily obtaining high-purity glycolide, it is preferable to use a purified product (high-purity grade) having a small content of impurities such as organic substances and metal ions in the aqueous glycolic acid solution.

Subsequently, the aqueous glycolic acid solution charged into the reaction vessel is heated and maintained at a temperature lower than the boiling point. Specifically, it is preferable that the aqueous glycolic acid solution is heated to a boiling point and then maintained at a temperature lower than the boiling point. This enables titanium to be appropriately dissolved and precipitated in the glycolic acid aqueous solution from the inner surface of the reaction vessel.

"boiling point at this time" represents the boiling point of the glycolic acid aqueous solution in a heated state (after heating). That is, the boiling point of the glycolic acid aqueous solution varies depending on the content (concentration) of glycolic acid. For example, a 70 mass% aqueous glycolic acid solution has a boiling point of 115 ℃, but when heating is continued after heating to 115 ℃, the content (concentration) of glycolic acid increases gradually, and along with this, the boiling point of the aqueous glycolic acid solution also increases gradually (more than 115 ℃). Therefore, for example, in the case of a 70 mass% aqueous glycolic acid solution, the step of maintaining the aqueous glycolic acid solution at 115 ℃ after heating the aqueous glycolic acid solution to 115 ℃ corresponds to the step of maintaining the aqueous glycolic acid solution at a temperature lower than the boiling point.

That is, when the boiling point of the aqueous glycolic acid solution before heating was Tbb (. degree.C.) and the boiling point of the aqueous glycolic acid solution after heating to Tbb (. degree.C.) was Tba (. degree.C.) > Tbb (. degree.C.). Therefore, "the boiling point at this time" is preferably Tba (deg.C) which is the boiling point of the aqueous glycolic acid solution heated to Tbb (deg.C), "the boiling point is maintained below" is preferably maintained at Tbb (deg.C) or lower (temperature lower than Tba (deg.C)).

Preferably, the step of maintaining at a temperature lower than the boiling point is performed to such an extent that titanium is appropriately dissolved and precipitated in the glycolic acid aqueous solution. Specifically, the step of maintaining the glycolic acid aqueous solution at a temperature lower than the boiling point is preferably performed so that the amount of titanium dissolved and precipitated in the glycolic acid aqueous solution is 10ppm to 1000ppm, preferably 10ppm to 500ppm, based on the total mass of glycolic acid. The amount of titanium dissolved and precipitated in the aqueous glycolic acid solution can be adjusted mainly by the temperature and time of the aqueous glycolic acid solution. The higher the temperature of the glycolic acid aqueous solution is, the larger the amount of titanium dissolved and precipitated in the glycolic acid aqueous solution is; the longer the time of the step of maintaining at a temperature lower than the boiling point, the larger the amount of titanium dissolved and precipitated in the glycolic acid aqueous solution.

The temperature at which the reaction vessel is maintained at a temperature lower than the boiling point (heat-keeping temperature) may be such that an appropriate amount of titanium is dissolved and precipitated from the reaction vessel into the aqueous glycolic acid solution (for example, the amount of dissolved and precipitated titanium is in the above-mentioned range with respect to the total mass of glycolic acid, or the amount of dissolved and precipitated titanium is in the above-mentioned range with respect to the total mass of glycolic acid oligomer produced), and although it depends on the time during which the reaction vessel is maintained at a temperature lower than the boiling point (heat-keeping time), when the boiling point of the aqueous glycolic acid solution before heating is Tbb (DEG C), the heat-keeping temperature is preferably (Tbb-65) DEG C or higher and Tbb ℃ or lower, and more preferably (Tbb-30) DEG C or higher and (Tbb-10) DEG. Specifically, the heat retention temperature is preferably 50 ℃ or higher and 130 ℃ or lower, and more preferably 80 ℃ or higher and 110 ℃ or lower.

The temperature at which the temperature is maintained at a temperature lower than the boiling point (the heat retention temperature) may be a fixed temperature or may not be a fixed temperature. From the viewpoint of easily adjusting the amount of titanium dissolved and precipitated from the reaction vessel, it is preferable that the temperature lower than the boiling point (heat retention temperature) is a fixed temperature.

The holding time (heat retention time) at a temperature lower than the boiling point may be a time sufficient for dissolving and precipitating an appropriate amount of titanium from the reaction vessel into the aqueous glycolic acid solution (for example, a time sufficient for the dissolved and precipitated amount of titanium to fall within the above-described range with respect to the total mass of glycolic acid or a time sufficient for the total mass of glycolic acid oligomers to be produced), and is preferably 12 hours or more, and more preferably 24 hours or more, depending on the concentration and temperature of the aqueous glycolic acid solution. When the time for maintaining the reaction mixture at a temperature lower than the boiling point (the heat retention time) is at least 12 hours, the amount of titanium dissolved and precipitated is usually likely to be 50ppm or more relative to glycolic acid. The upper limit of the time for which the reaction mixture is maintained at a temperature lower than the boiling point (heat retention time) is not particularly limited, and may be 250 hours, for example.

In the step of maintaining the temperature at a temperature lower than the boiling point, it is preferable to maintain the temperature at a temperature lower than the boiling point while refluxing the glycolic acid aqueous solution, from the viewpoint of allowing titanium to be dissolved and precipitated in the glycolic acid aqueous solution from the reaction vessel well.

The method for refluxing the glycolic acid aqueous solution is not particularly limited, and a method such as stirring or circulation can be employed. In the case of stirring, the stirring speed is not particularly limited as long as the stirring speed is such that no air bubbles are mixed.

This step may be performed in place of step 1), or may be performed in combination with step 1). When this step is performed in combination with step 1), the order is not limited.

Step 2) (dehydration polycondensation step)

Heating the aqueous glycolic acid solution obtained in the step 1) or 1') above to dehydrate and polycondense glycolic acid to obtain a glycolic acid oligomer. Specifically, the glycolic acid aqueous solution is heated until distillation of low molecular weight substances such as water and alcohol substantially disappears, and glycolic acid is polycondensed.

The heating temperature (dehydration polycondensation temperature) at the time of dehydration polycondensation is preferably 50 ℃ or more and 300 ℃ or less, more preferably 100 ℃ or more and 250 ℃ or less, and further preferably 140 ℃ or more and 230 ℃ or less.

In the case of performing the step 1 '), the dehydrating polycondensation reaction may be performed in the same reaction vessel as that in the step 1') or may be performed in a different reaction vessel. From the viewpoint of facilitating more accurate adjustment of the amount of dissolved and precipitated titanium in the step 1'), it is preferable to perform the dissolution and precipitation in a reaction vessel different from that in the step 1).

After completion of the dehydration polycondensation reaction, the produced glycolic acid oligomer can be used as it is as a raw material in the step 3) (depolymerization step) described later.

The glycolic acid oligomer obtained contains the titanium ions dissolved in the step 1) or the titanium dissolved and precipitated from the reaction vessel in the step 1'). For example, whether or not the glycolic acid oligomer contains titanium can be confirmed by Ion Chromatography (IC), ICP emission spectrometry, absorptiometry, or the like.

The weight average molecular weight (Mw) of the glycolic acid oligomer obtained is preferably 1000 or more and 100000 or less, more preferably 10000 or more and 100000 or less, from the viewpoint of the yield of glycolide. The weight average molecular weight (Mw) can be determined by Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC).

The melting point (Tm) of the glycolic acid oligomer obtained is, for example, preferably 140 ℃ or higher, more preferably 160 ℃ or higher, and still more preferably 180 ℃ or higher, from the viewpoint of the yield of glycolide during the depolymerization reaction. The upper limit of the melting point (Tm) of the glycolic acid oligomer is, for example, 220 ℃. The melting point (Tm) of the glycolic acid oligomer can be measured as the endothermic peak temperature at a temperature rise of 10 ℃/min under an inert gas atmosphere using a Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC).

Step 3) (depolymerization step)

Heating the glycolic acid oligomer obtained in the step 2) to depolymerize the glycolic acid oligomer, thereby obtaining glycolide.

The depolymerization may be any of solid-phase depolymerization, melt depolymerization, and solution depolymerization, and the solution depolymerization is preferable from the viewpoint of stable and large-amount production of glycolide. That is, preferably, glycolide is obtained by heating a glycolic acid oligomer in an organic solvent to depolymerize the glycolic acid oligomer.

First, a glycolic acid oligomer is added to an organic solvent described later, and heated at normal pressure or reduced pressure to dissolve the glycolic acid oligomer in the organic solvent.

(organic solvent)

From the viewpoint of increasing the depolymerization reaction temperature appropriately and easily increasing the glycolide production rate, the organic solvent preferably includes a high-boiling organic solvent having a boiling point of 230 ℃ or higher and 450 ℃ or lower, preferably 235 ℃ or higher and 450 ℃ or lower, more preferably 255 ℃ or higher and 430 ℃ or lower, and still more preferably 280 ℃ or higher and 420 ℃ or lower.

Examples of such high boiling point organic solvents include: aromatic dicarboxylic acid diesters, aromatic carboxylic acid esters, aliphatic dicarboxylic acid diesters, polyalkylene glycol diethers, dialkoxyalkyl aromatic dicarboxylic acids, dialkoxyalkyl aliphatic dicarboxylic acids, polyalkylene glycol diesters, aromatic phosphoric acid esters, and the like. Among them, aromatic dicarboxylic acid diesters, aromatic carboxylic acid esters, aliphatic dicarboxylic acid diesters, and polyalkylene glycol diethers are preferable, and polyalkylene glycol diethers are more preferable from the viewpoint of being less likely to cause thermal deterioration.

The polyalkylene glycol diether is preferably a polyalkylene glycol diether represented by the following formula (1).

[ chemical formula 1]

X-O-(-R-O-)p-Y (1)

In the formula (1), R represents a methylene group or a linear or branched alkylene group having 2 to 8 carbon atoms. X and Y each represent an alkyl group or an aryl group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms. p represents an integer of 1 to 5. When p is 2 or more, a plurality of R may be the same or different from each other.

Examples of polyalkylene glycol diethers include: polyalkylene glycol dialkyl ethers, polyalkylene glycol alkyl aryl ethers, and polyalkylene glycol diaryl ethers, and the like.

Examples of the polyalkylene glycol dialkyl ether include: diethylene glycol dialkyl ethers such as diethylene glycol dibutyl ether, diethylene glycol dihexyl ether, diethylene glycol dioctyl ether, diethylene glycol butyl 2-chlorophenyl ether, diethylene glycol butyl hexyl ether, diethylene glycol butyl octyl ether, and diethylene glycol hexyl octyl ether; triethylene glycol dialkyl ethers such as triethylene glycol diethyl ether, triethylene glycol dipropyl ether, triethylene glycol dibutyl ether, triethylene glycol dihexyl ether, triethylene glycol dioctyl ether, triethylene glycol butyl octyl ether, triethylene glycol butyl decyl ether, triethylene glycol butyl hexyl ether, and triethylene glycol hexyl octyl ether; tetraethylene glycol dialkyl ethers such as polyethylene glycol dialkyl ethers including tetraethylene glycol diethyl ether, tetraethylene glycol dipropyl ether, tetraethylene glycol dibutyl ether, tetraethylene glycol dihexyl ether, tetraethylene glycol dioctyl ether, tetraethylene glycol butyl hexyl ether, tetraethylene glycol butyl octyl ether, and tetraethylene glycol hexyl octyl ether; among these polyalkylene glycol dialkyl ethers, polypropylene glycol dialkyl ethers using a propyleneoxy group in place of an ethyleneoxy group, polybutylene glycol dialkyl ethers using a butyleneoxy group in place of an ethyleneoxy group, and the like are included.

Examples of polyalkylene glycol alkyl aryl ethers include: polyethylene glycol alkylaryl ethers in which a part of the hydrogen atoms on the phenyl group of diethylene glycol butyl phenyl ether, diethylene glycol hexyl phenyl ether, diethylene glycol octyl phenyl ether, triethylene glycol butyl phenyl ether, triethylene glycol hexyl phenyl ether, triethylene glycol octyl phenyl ether, tetraethylene glycol butyl phenyl ether, tetraethylene glycol hexyl phenyl ether, tetraethylene glycol octyl phenyl ether, and compounds thereof is substituted with an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, or a halogen atom; among these polyalkylene glycol alkylaryl ethers, polypropylene glycol alkylaryl ethers using a propyleneoxy group in place of an ethyleneoxy group, polybutylene glycol alkylaryl ethers using a butyleneoxy group in place of an ethyleneoxy group, and the like are included.

Examples of the polyalkylene glycol diaryl ether include: a polyethylene glycol diaryl ether in which a part of hydrogen atoms on the phenyl group of diethylene glycol diphenyl ether, triethylene glycol diphenyl ether, tetraethylene glycol diphenyl ether, or a compound thereof is substituted with an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, or a halogen atom; among these polyalkylene glycol diaryl ethers, polypropylene glycol diaryl ethers using a propyleneoxy group in place of an ethyleneoxy group, polybutylene glycol diaryl ethers using a butyleneoxy group in place of an ethyleneoxy group, and the like are included.

Among these, polyalkylene glycol dialkyl ethers are preferred from the viewpoint of being less likely to cause thermal deterioration, etc., tetraethylene glycol dibutyl ether, triethylene glycol butyl octyl ether, diethylene glycol dibutyl ether, and diethylene glycol butyl 2-chlorophenyl ether are more preferred, and tetraethylene glycol dibutyl ether and triethylene glycol butyl octyl ether are still more preferred from the viewpoint of the recovery rate of glycolide, etc.

The amount of the organic solvent added is, for example, preferably 30 to 5000 parts by mass, more preferably 50 to 2000 parts by mass, and still more preferably 100 to 1000 parts by mass, based on 100 parts by mass of the glycolic acid oligomer.

In addition, a solubilizer may be added as necessary in order to improve the solubility of the glycolic acid oligomer in the organic solvent.

[ solubilizing agent ]

The solubilizer is preferably a non-basic organic compound having a boiling point of 180 ℃ or higher, such as monohydric alcohols, polyhydric alcohols, phenols, monohydric aliphatic carboxylic acids, polyhydric aliphatic carboxylic acids, aliphatic amides, aliphatic imides, or sulfonic acids. Among them, monohydric alcohols and polyhydric alcohols are preferable from the viewpoint of easily obtaining the effect as a solubilizer.

The boiling point of the monohydric or polyhydric alcohol is preferably 200 ℃ or higher, more preferably 230 ℃ or higher, and particularly preferably 250 ℃ or higher.

The monohydric alcohol is preferably a polyalkylene glycol monoether represented by the following formula (2).

[ chemical formula 2]

HO-(R¹-O)q-X¹(2)

In the formula (2), R¹Represents a methylene group or a linear or branched alkylene group having 2 to 8 carbon atoms. X¹Represents a hydrocarbon group. The hydrocarbyl group is preferably an alkyl group. q represents an integer of 1 or more. When q is 2 or more, plural R¹May be the same or different from each other.

Examples of the polyalkylene glycol monoethers include: polyethylene glycol monoethers such as polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether, polyethylene glycol monoethyl ether, polyethylene glycol monopropyl ether, polyethylene glycol monobutyl ether, polyethylene glycol monohexyl ether, polyethylene glycol monooctyl ether, polyethylene glycol monodecyl ether, and polyethylene glycol monolauryl ether; among these polyethylene glycol monoethers, polypropylene glycol monoethers using a propyleneoxy group in place of an ethyleneoxy group, polybutylene glycol monoethers using a butyleneoxy group in place of an ethyleneoxy group, and the like are included. Among these, polyalkylene glycol monoethers having 1 to 18, preferably 6 to 18, carbon atoms in the alkyl group contained in the ether group are preferable, and polyethylene glycol monoalkyl ethers such as triethylene glycol monooctyl ether are more preferable.

Since polyalkylene glycol monoethers can improve the solubility of glycolic acid oligomers, the use of polyalkylene glycol monoethers as solubilizers facilitates the rapid progress of the depolymerization reaction of glycolic acid oligomers.

The polyhydric alcohol is preferably a polyalkylene glycol represented by the following formula (3).

[ chemical formula 3]

HO-(R²-O)r-H (3)

In the formula (3), R²Represents a methylene group or a linear or branched alkylene group having 2 to 8 carbon atoms. r represents an integer of 1 or more. When R is 2 or more, a plurality of R²May be the same or different from each other.

Examples of the polyalkylene glycol include: polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, polybutylene glycol, and the like.

The amount of the solubilizer is preferably 0.1 to 500 parts by mass, more preferably 1 to 300 parts by mass, per 100 parts by mass of the glycolic acid oligomer. When the amount of the solubilizer added is a certain amount or more, the solubility of the glycolic acid oligomer in the organic solvent can be easily sufficiently improved, and when the amount is a certain amount or less, the cost required for recovering the solubilizer can be reduced.

Subsequently, the glycolic acid oligomer is depolymerized while heating the obtained solution under normal pressure or reduced pressure.

The heating temperature (depolymerization temperature) in the depolymerization reaction may be equal to or higher than the temperature at which the glycolic acid oligomer is depolymerized, and depends on the degree of pressure reduction, the kind of the high-boiling organic solvent, and the like, but is usually 200 ℃ or higher, preferably 200 ℃ or higher and 350 ℃ or lower, more preferably 210 ℃ or higher and 310 ℃ or lower, further preferably 220 ℃ or higher and 300 ℃ or lower, and further preferably 230 ℃ or higher and 290 ℃ or lower.

The heating during the depolymerization reaction may be carried out under normal pressure or under reduced pressure, and is preferably carried out under reduced pressure of 0.1kPa or more and 90kPa or less. This is because the lower the pressure, the lower the depolymerization reaction temperature, so that the heating temperature is likely to be lowered and the recovery rate of the solvent is likely to be increased. The reduced pressure is preferably 1kPa to 60kPa, more preferably 1.5kPa to 40kPa, and particularly preferably 2kPa to 30 kPa.

Then, the produced glycolide is distilled out of the depolymerization reaction system together with the organic solvent. By distilling off the produced glycolide together with the organic solvent, glycolide can be prevented from adhering to and accumulating on the wall surfaces of the reaction vessel and the pipeline.

Then, glycolide is recovered from the resulting distillate. Specifically, the distillate was cooled and phase-separated to precipitate glycolide. The precipitated glycolide is separated by a method such as filtration from the mother liquor, centrifugal precipitation, decantation, or the like, and recovered.

The mother liquor from which glycolide has been separated may be recycled without purification, or may be subjected to filtration purification by treatment with activated carbon or the like or may be subjected to redistillation and purification before recycling.

When glycolide is distilled off together with the organic solvent, the volume of the depolymerization reaction system decreases. On the other hand, by adding glycolic acid oligomer and an organic solvent in amounts corresponding to the amounts distilled out to the depolymerization reaction system, the depolymerization reaction can be continuously or repeatedly carried out for a long period of time.

As described above, in the present invention, metal titanium is added to an aqueous glycolic acid solution to perform a dehydration polycondensation reaction and a depolymerization reaction. This can dramatically increase the glycolide production rate.

2. Glycolide

The glycolide (also referred to as crude glycolide) obtained by the production method of the present invention is preferably high in purity. Specifically, the purity of glycolide is preferably 99.0% or more, more preferably 99.3% or more, and still more preferably 99.5% or more. The purity of glycolide can be determined by Gas Chromatography (GC) using 4-chlorobenzophenone as an internal standard.

As described above, according to the method for producing glycolide of the present invention, high-purity glycolide can be obtained at a high production rate.