Process and plant for converting oxygenates to gasoline with improved gasoline yield and octane number as well as reduced durene levels

A process for converting an oxygenate feed stream, the process comprising the steps of:

• conducting the oxygenate feed stream to an oxygenate-to-gasoline reactor under the presence of a fixed bed of catalyst active for converting oxygenates in the oxygenate feed stream into a raw gasoline stream comprising C3-C4 paraffins and C5+ hydrocarbons;
• said oxygenate feed stream being added to the oxygenate-to-gasoline reactor at a point upstream said fixed bed of catalyst;
• adding an aromatic stream to the oxygenate-to-gasoline reactor;
• wherein the oxygenate-to-gasoline reactor is a methanol-to-gasoline (MTG) reactor having arranged along its length a fixed bed or a plurality of successive fixed beds comprising the catalyst, the extension along the length of the MTG reactor of said fixed bed or plurality of successive fixed beds defining a total bed length;
• the process further comprising:
• operating the MTG reactor adiabatically and adding the aromatic stream at 40-80% of the total bed length;
• separating from the raw gasoline stream a gasoline product stream comprising the C5+ hydrocarbons and a stream comprising C3-C4 paraffins;
• and
• conducting the stream comprising C3-C4 paraffins or a portion thereof to an upgrading reactor under the presence of a catalyst active for converting the C3-C4 paraffins into the aromatic stream, in which the aromatic stream comprises any of benzene, toluene or xylene, or combinations thereof.