Process of producing alpha-olefins
AssigneeE. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company
InventorsDavid A. Culver, Rinaldo S. Schiffino, Dewey Lynn Kerbow
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Abstract
α-Olefins are made in a modified plug flow reactor system by the oligomerization of ethylene using an iron complex of a selected diimine of a 2,6-pyridinecarboxaldehyde(bisimine) or 2,6-diacylpyridine(bisimine) as the oligomerization catalyst. The reactor is modified to add the iron complex at two or more points along the length of the plug flow reactor, the distance between addition points being dependent on the half-life of the active ethylene oligomerization catalyst.
Claims10
A process for the preparation of α-olefins, comprising, contacting at about 40° C. to about 120° C. in a liquid full modified plug flow reactor:
- (a) an oligomerization catalyst which is an iron complex of a 2,6-pyridinecarboxaldehye(bisimine) or a 2,6-diacylpyridine(bisimine) which oligomerizes ethylene to α-olefins;
- (b) ethylene;
- (c) an organic solvent;
- and
- (d) optionally one or more cocatalysts;
- wherein (a) plus (b) plus (c) plus (d), when present, form a process mixture, and wherein along the length of said modified plug flow reactor said oligomerization catalyst is added at two or more first addition points to said process mixture, so that a time interval for said process mixture between said addition points is about 0.3 to about 5 half lives of said oligomerization catalyst under process conditions.
The process as recited in claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 wherein ethylene is added at two or more second addition points to said process mixture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.