sufficient to at least maintain the concentration of such acidic compounds below the threshold level that causes rapid degradation of the organophosphite ligand. of water is the quantity 

For instance, a preferred quantity which ensures that any degradation of the organophosphite ligand proceeds by the "non-catalytic mechanism" as described in "The Kinetic Rate Law for Autocatalytic Reac› tions" by Mata-Perez et al .. Journal of Chemical Education. Vol. 64. No. 11. November 1987, pages 925 to 927. rather than by the "catalytic mechanism" described in said article. Typically maximum water concentrations are only governed by practical considerations. As noted. treatment conditions such as temperature, pressure and contact time may also vary greatly and any suitable combination of such conditions may be employed herein. For instance. a decrease in one of such conditions may be compensated for by an increase in one or both of the other conditions. while the opposite correlation is also true. In general liquid temperatures rang› ing from about 10° C. to about 120° C .. preferably from about 20° C. to about 80° C.. and more preferably from about 25 ° C. to about 60° C. should be suitable for most instances, although lower or higher temperatures could be employed if desired. As noted above. it has been surprisingly discovered that minimum loss of organophosphite ligand occurs when $_{a }$hydroformylation reaction product fluid con› taining $_{a }$metal-organophosphite ligand complex catalyst is contacted with water even at elevated temperatures. Nor› mally the treatment is carried out under pressures ranging from ambient to reaction pressures and the contact time may vary from a matter of seconds or minutes to a few hours or more. acidic com› 

Moreover. success in removing phosphorus pounds from the reaction product fluid according to the subject invention may be determined by measuring the rate degradation (consumption) of the organophosphite ligand present in the hydroform.ylation reaction medium. The con› sumption rate can vary over a wide range, e.g.. from about;§0.6 up to about 5 grams per liter per day. and will be governed by the best compromise between cost of ligand and treatment frequency to keep hydrolysis below autocata› lytic levels. Preferably the water treatment of this invention is carried out in such a manner that the consumption of the desired organophosphite ligand present in the hydroform.y› lation reaction medium of the hydroform.ylation process is maintained at an acceptable rate, e.g.,;§0.5 grams of ligand per liter per day, and more preferably~0.1 grams of ligand per liter per day. and most preferably~0.06 grams of ligand per liter per day. As the extraction of phosphorus acidic compounds into the water proceeds. the pH of the water will decrease and become more and more acidic. When the water reaches an unacceptable acidity level it may simply be replaced with new water. of this invention is to 

The preferred method of operation pass all or a portion of the reaction product fluid before aldehyde removal or reaction product fluid concentration after removal of aldehyde through the water. Alternately, water may be sprayed into or otherwise added to the at least one reaction zone or the at least one separation zone to achieve acidity control. The water layer formed may then be separated, e.g., decanted, from the reaction product fluid. An advantage of this scheme is that extraction capability is immediately available if acidity forms in the reaction prod› uct fluid. This invention is not intended to be limited in any manner by the permissible means for contacting a reaction product fluid with water (either inside or outside of the reaction zone or separation zone). water" is 

For purposes of this invention, "non-contacted contemplated to include water that has not been contacted 

with the reaction product fluid and "contacted water" is contemplated to include water that has been contacted with the reaction product fluid. water for use 

Any means to prepare the non-contacted with the process of this invention can be used so long as the water is substantially free of catalyst poisons, inhibitors, or compounds that would promote undesirable side reactions in the catalyst solution. A summary of water treatment tech› niques can be found in the Kirk Othmer, Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. Fourth Edition. 1996. an evaluation of the 

Water treatment should begin with water quality needs for the process. For acid extraction from reaction product fluids containing metal-organophosphite ligand complex catalysts. the quality of water required is generally of boiler quality or better. Sources of water for purification can vary greatly in purity from river water containing logs. silt and other debris, to steam condensate that is relatively pure. If river water is to be used, purifica› tion starts with filtration of the largest pieces. Grates or screens may be used for this first filtration step. A number of techniques can be used to remove other solids that may be present in the water including; sedimentation, centrifugal separation, filtration. coagulation. flocculation. magnetic separation. of combinations of these. After clarified water is obtained. the remaining dissolved solids can also be treated in a number of ways. Distillation is still commonly prac› ticed. Dissolved salts may be treated with other acids or bases to precipitate certain compounds. The acids or bases that are added are chosen based on the solubility of the compounds that will be produced. Ion exchange is another popular method for removing dissolved salts. The most common ion exchange method uses sodium as the cation. Other ion exchange techniques with protons or hydroxide ions may also be employed. Adsorption can be used to remove some metal salts and organic compounds that may be present. Activated carbon is used commonly as an adsor› bent. Membranes are still another technique that may be used removed dissolved salts or other colloidal particles. electronic charge. 

Membranes separate based on size, hydrophobicity, or other physical-chemical property differ› ences. Reverse osmosis is an example of using membranes to purify water. If dissolved gases such as oxygen are present, the water can be stripped with steam or nitrogen or subjected to vacuum to remove or replace the dissolved gas. water neces- 

A preferred process to purify non-contacted sary for the acid removal would be a combination of some of the aforementioned techniques. used to counteract 

Internal techniques where additives are the harmful e:tfects of impurities can also be used to prepare non-contacted water for use in extraction, but the external techniques described in the preceding paragraph are more preferred. invention may 

The contacted water employable in this comprise any suitable water such that the pH of the con- tacted water may range from about 2 to about 7.5, preferably from about 2.5 to about 7 and more preferably from about 3 to about 6. The flowrate of water through the extractor and/or the addition of water to the at least one reaction zone and/or the at least one separation zone should be sufficient to control pH of the water at desired levels. An increased flowrate of water through the extractor may cause removal, i.e., through the water effluent. of certain amounts of one or more aldehyde products from the process. one or more 

In a preferred embodiment of this invention, aldehyde products removed by water extraction can be recovered and returned to the hydroform.ylation process as depicted in the process flow diagram of FIG. 1. For example, 

