Alkylation process
AssigneePhillips Petroleum Company
InventorThomas Hutson, Jr.
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In the HF alkylation of isoparaffins with olefins an improved process is provided comprising charging isoparaffin, olefin(s), and HF catalyst to the upstream end of a vertically extended reaction zone, introducing the same or different olefin(s) and, optionally, isoparaffin, downstream along with a recycled alkane stream separated from the alkylation effluent under alkylation conditions to produce high octane alkylate. In a preferred embodiment, the recycle alkane stream is propane and/or normal butane.
Claims15
A process for alkylating an isoparaffin in the presence of HF acid in a vertically extended reaction zone comprising:
- (a) introducing a liquid mixture comprising an isoparaffin, an olefin, and HF acid catalyst into a lower end portion of said zone,
- (b) introducing at least one olefin into said zone at at least one point substantially downstream of the place of introduction of olefin in (a),
- (c) maintaining suitable conditions of temperature, pressure, and residence time in said reaction zone to form alkylate,
- (d) passing the reaction effluent containing alkylate from said zone to a settling zone to separate an HF acid phase and a hydrocarbon phase containing alkylate and unreacted isoparaffin, HF acid, and normal paraffins,
- (e) fractionating said hydrocarbon phase into a normal paraffin fraction comprising principally normal C.sub.3 and C.sub.4 paraffin hydrocarbons freed of alkylate, an isoparaffin fraction, and an alkylate fraction, and
- (f) recycling at least a portion of said normal paraffin fraction in (e) to each point of downstream introduction of olefin in (b) in an amount sufficient to provide a hydrocarbon to olefin volume ratio of about 2 to 1 to about 50 to 1.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.