Process for manufacturing alkylamines

A process for converting a C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alcohol to a predetermined nonequilibrium controlled distribution of monosubstituted, disubstituted and trisubstituted alkylamines which comprises

• (a) passing a mixture of the C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alcohol and ammonia into a first conversion zone containing a shape selective crystalline aluminosilicate zeolite catalyst which has intracrystalline pores of a diameter that pass the monosubstituted and disubstituted alkylamine products but are too small to pass the trisubstituted alkylamine product,
• (b) substantially completely converting the alcohol under conversion conditions in the first conversion zone to yield a product stream comprising the monosubstituted and disubstituted alkylamines while substantially suppressing the production of the trisubstituted alkylamine,
• (c) removing a predetermined fraction of the first product stream,
• (d) passing the remainder of the first product stream into a second conversion zone containing a catalyst which has intracrystalline pores sufficiently large to readily permit the production of an equilibrium controlled distribution of monosubstituted, disubstituted and trisubstituted alkylamine,
• (e) converting the monosubstituted and disubstituted alkylamines of the first product stream under conversion conditions in the second conversion zone to yield a second product stream comprising an equilibrium controlled distribution of monosubstituted, disubstituted and trisubstituted alkylamines, and
• (f) combining the fraction of the first product steam from step (c) with the second product stream to yield a nonequilibrium controlled monosubstituted, disubstituted and trisubstituted alkylamine distribution.