Process for selectively separating hydrogen, or both hydrogen and carbon monoxide from olefinic hydrocarbons

A process for removing hydrogen and carbon monoxide from a mixture which includes hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and unsaturated hydrocarbons which comprises

• (a) contacting said mixture in a first reaction zone, with oxygen or an oxygen-containing gas in such an amount that the amount of oxygen present is in the range of from greater than about 100 mole percent to about 500 mole percent of the stoichiometric amount of oxygen required to react with the hydrogen over a catalyst comprising one or more than one of the metals or metal oxides selected from the elements of Groups Ib, IIb, IIIa, IVa and Va of the Periodic Table of Elements at conditions sufficient to oxidize the hydrogen component of the mixture to form water while suppressing hydrogenation of the unsaturated hydrocarbons of the mixture and removing therefrom an effluent which contains less than 500 wppm hydrogen,
• (b) contacting said effluent, in a second reaction zone, over an oxidation catalyst, in the presence of oxygen or an oxygen-containing gas at conditions sufficient to oxidize the carbon monoxide component of the mixture to form carbon dioxide and removing therefrom an effluent,
• (c) contacting said effluent, in a third reaction zone, over a bifunctional catalyst at conditions sufficient to react carbon monoxide with water to form carbon dioxide and hydrogen, and reacting the resulting hydrogen with olefin, and removing therefrom an effluent, and
• (d) recovering from said third reaction zone an effluent which is rich in unsaturated hydrocarbons and denuded of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and oxygen.