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O
Oxoation
as the LP Oxo SELECTOR process (also the LPO process), developed in the 1970s jointly by Union
Carbide Corporation, Johnson Matthey, and Davy Corporation, operates at a lower pressure and uses
the *Wilkinson catalyst (a complex of rhodium carbonyl hydride with triphenylphosphine). The resulting
carbonyl compound can be hydrogenated in situ to the corresponding alcohol, if an excess of hydrogen is
used, or oxidized in a subsequent operation to the corresponding carboxylic acid. In 1990, 11 plants had
been licensed worldwide. More than six million tons of chemicals were made by this family of processes
in 1999. See also RCH/RP.