3. Industrial applications

There are many advantages to using water as a solvent in industrial processes. Water is the least expensive solvent; it is non-toxic and non-flammable, and processes carried out in aqueous media often enable products to be easily separated by simple decantation.

The most remarkable example of industrial development using water as a reaction medium is certainly the hydroformylation process developed by Ruhrchemie/Rhône-Poulenc, which produces 800,000 tonnes per year. The process converts propene into n- and iso-butyraldehyde or butene into valeraldehyde:

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