39  5,763,671  40  Moreover,  success  in  removing  phosphorus  acidic  com› 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  hydroformylation  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  acid  removal  substance  and  water  treatment  of  this  invention  is  carried  out  in  such  a  manner  that  the  consumption  of  the  desired  organophosphite  ligand  present  in  the  hydroformylation  reaction  medium  of  the  hydroformylation  process  is  maintained  at  an  acceptable  rate,  e.g.,  <0.5  grams  of  ligand  per  liter  per  day.  and  more  preferably  <O.  1  grams  of  ligand  per  liter  per  day.  and  most  Moreover.  removal  of  the  desired  aldehyde  product  can  cause  concentrations  of the  other  ingredients  of the  reaction  product  fluids  to  be  increased  proportionately.  Thus  for  example,  the  organophosphite  ligand  concentration  in  the  metal-organophosphite  ligand  complex  catalyst  containing  reaction  product  fluid  to  be  treated  by  water  in  accordance  with  the  process  of this  invention  may  range  from  between  about  0.005  and  15  weight  percent  based  on  the  total  weight  of the  reaction  product  fluid.  Preferably  the  ligand  concen› tration  is  between  0.01  and  10  weight  percent,  and  more  preferably  is  between  about  0.05  and  5  weight  percent  on  that  basis.  Similarly.  the  concentration  of  the  metal  in the  metal-organophosphite  ligand  complex  catalyst  containing  reaction  product  fluid  to be  treated  by  the  water  in  accor› dance  with  the  process  of  this  invention  may  be  as  high  as  about  5000  parts  per  million  by  weight  based  on  the  weight  of  the  reaction  product  fluid.  Preferably  the  metal  concen› tration  is  between  about  50  and  2500  parts  per  million  by  weight  based  on  the  weight  of the  reaction  product  fluid,  and  more  preferably  is  between  about  70  and  2000  parts  per  million  by  weight  based  on  the  weight  of  the  reaction  product  fluid.  Thus  it is  to be  understood  that  $_{the }$metal-organophosphite  ligand  complex  catalyst  containing  reaction  product  fluid  to  be  treated  with  water  may  contain  in  addition  to the  catalyst  complex  and  its  organic  solvent,  aldehyde  product,  free  organophosphite  ligand,  unreacted  olefin,  and  any  other  ingredient  or  additive  consistent  with  the  reaction  medium  of  the  hydroformylation  process  from  which  said  reaction  product  fluids  are  derived.  Thus.  for  example.  water  may  be  used  to  treat  all  or  part  of  a  reaction  product  fluid  of  a  continuous  liquid  catalyst  recycle  hydroformylation  process  that  has  been  removed  from  the  reaction  zone  at  any  time  prior  to or  after  separation  of  the  aldehyde  product  therefrom.  More  preferably  said  water  treatment  involves  treating  all  or  part  of  the  reaction  product  fluid  obtained  after  distillation  of  as  much  of  the  aldehyde  product  desired,  for  example,  prior  to or  during  the  recycling  of  said  reaction  product  fluid  to  the  reaction  zone.  For  instance,  a  preferred  mode  would  be  to  continuously  pass  all  or  part  (e.g.  a  slip  stream)  of  the  recycled  reaction  product  fluid  that  is  being  recycled  to  the  reaction  zone  through  a  liquid  extractor  containing  the  water  just  before  said  catalyst  containing  residue  is  to  re-enter  the  reaction  zone.  For  instance.  a  preferred  quantity  of  water  is the  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  the  acid  removal  substances  or is  contacted  with  water  and  the  contacted  water  thereafter  treated  with  the  acid  removal  substances  even  at  elevated  temperatures.  Normally  the  treatment  is  carried  out  under  pressures  rang› ing  from  ambient  to  reaction  pressures  and  the  contact  time  may  vary  from  a  matter  of  seconds  or  minutes  to a  few  hours  or  more.  The  manner  in  which  the  metal-organophosphite  ligand  complex  catalyst  containing  reaction  product  fluid  and  water  are  contacted,  as  well  as  such  treatment  conditions,  as  the  amount  of  water,  temperature,  pressure  and  contact  time  are  not  narrowly  critical  and  obviously  need  only  be  sufficient  to  obtain  the  results  desired.  For  instance.  said  treatment  may  be  carried  out  in any  suitable  vessel  or  container.  e.g.  any  conventional  liquid  extractor.  which  provides  a  suitable  means  for  thorough  contact  between  the  organic  reaction  product  fluid  and  water.  may  be  employed  herein.  In  general  it is  preferred  to  pass  the  organic  reaction  product  fluid  through  the  water  in  a  sieve  tray  extractor  column  in  a  counter-current  fashion.  The  amount  of  water  employed  by  the  subject  invention  and  time  of  contact  with  the  reaction  product  fluid  need  only  be  that  which  is  sufficient  to  remove  at  least  some  amount  of  the  phosphorus  acidic  compounds  which  cause  hydrolytic  degradation  of  the  desirable  orga› nophosphite  ligands.  Preferably  the  amount  of  water  is  sufficient  to at  least  maintain  the  concentration  of  such  acidic  compounds  below  the  threshold  level  that  causes  rapid  degradation  of the  organophosphite  ligand.  Also,  it is  to be  understood  that  another  preferred  hydro› formylation  process  of  this  invention,  i.e .•  the  embodiment  comprising  preventing  and/or  lessening  hydrolytic  degrada› tion  of  the  organophosphite  ligand  and  deactivation  of  the  metal-organophosphite  ligand  complex  catalyst  by  treating  at  least  a  portion  of the  hydroformylation  reaction  product  fluid  derived  from  the  hydroformylation  process  and  which  also  contains  phosphorus  acidic  compounds  formed  during  said  hydroformylation  process  by  introducing  one  or  more  acid  removal  substances  into  said  at  least  one  reaction  zone  and/or  said  at  least  one  separation  zone  sufficient  to  remove  at  least  some  amount  of  the  phosphorus  acidic  compounds  from  said  reaction  product  fluid,  is  also  considered  to  be  essentially  a  "non-aqueous"  process.  phorus  acidic  compounds  removed  from  said  reaction  prod- uct  fluid  with  one  or  more  acid  removal  substances  sufficient  to  remove  at  least  some  amount  of  the  phosphorus  acidic  compounds  from  said  water,  is  still  considered  to be  essen› tially  a  "non-aqueous"  process,  which  is to  say,  any  water  present  in  the  hydroformylation  reaction  medium  is  not  present  in  an  amount  sufficient  to  cause  either  the  hydro› formylation  reaction  or  said  medium  to  be  considered  as  encompassing  a  separate  aqueous  or  water  phase  or  layer  in  addition  to an  organic  phase. 