Reducing methylacetylene charged to an ethylene production

Abstract

Methylacetylene is removed prior to unduly raising its temperature from a stream containing the same but thus to minimize any danger of violent decomposition or explosion or coke formation. In one embodiment, a stream is obtained from the cracking of propane to produce ethylene, is fractionated to obtain a concentrate of methylacetylene and any propadiene which may be present, the concentrate is subjected to hydrogenation, thus converting methylacetylene and propadiene to propylene and the propylene is recovered. A fractionation tower or system operation is shown wherein a propane-propylene concentrate from an ethylene fractionation unit is fed to a fractionator from which non-condensibles and propylene are taken off as overhead, and upper sidedraw, respectively, an intermediate fraction containing methylacetylene and propadiene which may be present is taken from the system for hydrogenation, the hydrogenated stream being returned to the fractionator, and a bottoms yield, which is reboiled, is drawn off and can be sent for further cracking, as to produce ethylene.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.