Etherification process
AssigneeCatalytic Distillation Technologies
InventorsLawrence Smith, John Adams
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A process for the etherification of C4, C5 and/or C6 tertiary olefins in a hydrocarbon feed with at least one C1 to C6 alcohol, preferably C1-C4 alcohols in a distillation column reactor, preferably where C4's and C5's ethers are co-produced, in which the amount of alcohol employed in the etherification is below that which will produce an azeotrope with hydrocarbons in the overheads from the distillation column reactor. The azeotrope results from the presence of unreacted alcohol in the reaction system in the distillation column reactor. The amount of alcohol is less than the stoichiometric amount, preferably less than 90%, more preferably 10 to 80%, of the stoichiometric amount and the overheads contain less than a stoichiometric of alcohol.
Claims3
-16. (canceled)
A gasoline component comprising methyl tertiary butyl ether and tertiary amyl methyl ether and dimers produced by a process for the co-production of ethers from the reaction of the isobutene and isoamylenes contained in a mixed C4/C5 stream comprising the steps of:
- (a) feeding less than 90% of the stoichiometric amount of at least one C1-C4 alcohol to react with said isobutene and isoamylenes in a mixture comprising C5 hydrocarbons including pentanes, n-pentenes and isoamylenes and C4 hydrocarbons including butanes, n-butenes and isobutene to a reaction mixture to a distillation column reactor, characterized in that the amount of alcohol is less than an azeotrope amount;
- (b) concurrently in said distillation column reactor
- (i) reacting a portion of the said isobutene and said isoamylenes with alcohol to form methyl tertiary butyl ether and tertiary amyl methyl ether in a reaction mixture containing methyl tertiary butyl ether, tertiary amyl methyl ether and reacting a portion of said isobutene and isoamylenes to form dimers thereof and
- (ii) separating said methyl tertiary butyl ether and said tertiary amyl methyl ether and dimers contained in said reaction mixture from said unreacted C4's, unreacted C5's contained in said second reaction mixture by fractional distillation;
- (c) removing said unreacted C4's and C5's from said distillation column reactor as overheads wherein said overheads are substantially free of alcohol;
- and
- (d) removing said methyl tertiary butyl ether and said tertiary amyl methyl ether and dimers from said distillation column as bottoms.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.