Process for dimerizing light olefins to produce a fuel component
AssigneeFortum Oil and Gas Oy
InventorsAntti Pyhälahti, Juhani Aittamaa
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Abstract
A process for dimerizing light olefinic hydrocarbons in a reaction zone containing a solid acidic catalyst. The process comprises recovering a reaction zone effluent which contains unreacted olefinic hydrocarbons, converting the unreacted olefinic hydrocarbons into an intermediate product in the effluent and separating the intermediate product from the effluent. By decomposing the separated intermediate product the unreacted olefinic hydrocarbons can be recovered and recycled to the reaction zone. By means of the invention, the yield of the product and the lifetime of the catalyst can be improved in a direct dimerization process of light olefins.
Claims6
A process for dimerizing light olefinic hydrocarbons comprising the steps of:
- feeding a hydrocarbon feedstock comprising light olefins into a first reaction zone containing a solid acidic catalyst;
- feeding an oxygenate into the first reaction zone;
- contacting the hydrocarbon feedstock with the solid acidic catalyst in the presence of the oxygenate to dimerize light olefins of the feedstock into the corresponding dimers;
- recovering the dimers and unreacted light olefins from the first reaction zone;
- converting the unreacted light olefins into an intermediate product in the presence of the same or a different oxygenate in a recovery section, wherein said intermediate product is an alcohol or an ether formed by the reversible reaction of the light olefins and the oxygenate;
- separating the intermediate product from the unreacted light olefins;
- decomposing the intermediate product to form the corresponding light olefins;
- and
- recycling the formed light olefins to the first reaction zone.
A process for dimerizing light olefinic hydrocarbons in a reaction zone containing a solid acidic catalyst, comprising
- recovering a reaction effluent which contains unreacted olefinic hydrocarbons and dimers,
- converting the unreacted olefinic hydrocarbons in the presence of an oxygenate into an intermediate product in the effluent,
- separating the intermediate product from the effluent,
- decomposing the separated intermediate product to form light olefinic hydrocarbons and
- recycling the light olefinic hydrocarbons to the reaction zone.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.