A non-aqueous hydroformylation process with liquid catalyst recycle
involving a hydroformylation step and one or more stages of phase
separation to recover a high molecular weight aldehyde product with
efficient recovery of rhodium catalyst. The process includes a
hydroformylation step to prepare a non-aqueous hydroformylation reaction
product composition comprising one or more aldehyde products, one or more
conjugated polyolefins, a rhodium-organophosphorus ligand complex, free
organophosphorus ligand, and an organic solubilizing agent for said
complex and said free ligand, and thereafter one or more stages of phase
separation using added water under a carbon monoxide gas, hydrogen gas,
or a mixture thereof. The process requires a specific range of total
pressure for the hydroformylation, a specific range of total pressure for
at least one of the separation stages, and a minimum sum of the total
pressure of the hydroformylation step and the total pressure of the
separation stage containing said gas.