Converting methanol and ethanol to light olefins
OwnerPhilip Ruziska, Christopher Jenkins +4inventors
InventorsPhilip Ruziska, Christopher Jenkins, James Lattner, Michael Nicoletti, Michael Veraa, Cor van Egmond
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Abstract
The present invention provides processes for producing light olefins from a feedstock comprising methanol and ethanol. The ethanol is converted to ethylene and water over a dehydration catalyst, while the methanol is converted to light olefins and water over a molecular sieve catalyst. These conversion steps may occur in two separate reactors operating in series or in parallel, or in a single reactor containing a mixture of dehydration catalyst and molecular sieve catalyst.
Claims54
A process for producing light olefins, the process comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a feedstock comprising methanol and ethanol;
- (b) dehydrating at least a portion of the ethanol in a first reactor to form a first effluent comprising ethylene, methanol, water and less than about 2 weight percent acetaldehyde, based on the total weight of the first effluent;
- and
- (c) contacting the methanol in the first effluent with a molecular sieve catalyst composition in a second reactor under conditions effective to convert the methanol to additional light olefins.
A process for producing light olefins, the process comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a feedstock comprising methanol and ethanol;
- (b) separating the feedstock into a methanol-containing stream and an ethanol-containing stream, wherein the methanol-containing stream comprises a weight majority of the methanol from the feedstock, and the ethanol-containing stream comprises a weight majority of the ethanol from the feedstock;
- (c) contacting the ethanol in the ethanol-containing stream with a dehydration catalyst in a first reactor under conditions effective to convert the ethanol to water and light olefins, wherein the light olefins are yielded from the first reactor in a first effluent;
- (d) contacting the methanol in the methanol-containing stream with a molecular sieve catalyst composition in a second reactor under conditions effective to convert the methanol to light olefins and water, which are yielded from the second reactor in a second effluent;
- and
- (e) combining at least a portion of the first effluent with at least a portion of the second effluent to form a combined product stream.
A process for producing light olefins, the process comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a feedstock comprising methanol and ethanol;
- and
- (b) contacting a population of catalyst particles in a fluidized reactor with the feedstock under conditions effective to convert the methanol and the ethanol to light olefins and water, wherein the population of catalyst particles comprises ETE catalyst particles and molecular sieve catalyst particles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.