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US 2012/0046508 A1Published application
Process for toluene and methane coupling in a microreactor
AssigneeFina Technology, Inc.
InventorJames R. Butler
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A process for making ethylbenzene and/or styrene by reacting toluene with methane in one or more microreactors is disclosed. In one embodiment a method of revamping an existing styrene production facility by adding one or more microreactors capable of reacting toluene with methane to produce a product stream comprising ethylbenzene and/or styrene is disclosed.
Claims10
1-20. (canceled)
A process for making styrene comprising:
- reacting toluene and methane in one or more microreactors to form a first product stream comprising one or more of ethylbenzene, styrene, benzene, toluene and methane;
- sending the first product stream to a first separation zone;
- removing at least a portion of any toluene and methane from the first separation zone for recycle to the one or more microreactors;
- removing at least a portion of the benzene from the first separation zone;
- reacting the benzene with ethylene in a separate alkylation reactor to form a second product stream comprising ethylbenzene;
- sending the second product stream to the first separation zone;
- removing at least a portion of any ethylbenzene from the first separation zone;
- and
- dehydrogenating the ethylbenzene in one or more dehydrogenation reactors to form styrene.
6 more elements
A method of revamping an existing styrene production facility comprising;
- providing an existing production facility;
- and
- adding one or more microreactors to said facility, wherein said one or more microreactors are capable of reacting toluene with methane to produce a first product stream comprising ethylbenzene and/or styrene.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.