Hydrocarbon feed flexible high pressure nitration plant design

A process for synthesizing a first nitroalkane and a second nitroalkane, the process comprising:

• reacting a first feedstock in a reactor with aqueous nitric acid at a reaction temperature of between about 140 degrees Celsius and about 325 degrees Celsius and a reaction pressure of at least about 6.89×106 Pascal to produce a first reaction product stream;
• quenching the first reaction product stream in a cooling system such that the first reaction product stream phase separates into at least a first gas phase, a first oil phase, and a first aqueous phase;
• absorbing in an absorber water-soluble and oil-soluble components from the first gas phase to form a first hydrocarbon gas stream and a first gas-recovered mixture;
• forming in a separator a first combined gas-recovered aqueous phase and a first combined gas-recovered oil phase from the first gas-recovered mixture, the first oil phase, and the first aqueous phase;
• recovering the first nitroalkane from at least one of the first combined gas-recovered aqueous phase and the first combined gas-recovered oil phase;
• reacting a second feedstock in the reactor with aqueous nitric acid at a reaction temperature of between about 140 degrees Celsius and about 325 degrees Celsius and a reaction pressure of at least about 6.89×106 Pascal to produce a second reaction product stream;
• quenching the second reaction product stream in the cooling system such that the second reaction product stream phase separates into at least a second gas phase, a second oil phase, and a second aqueous phase;
• absorbing in the absorber water-soluble and oil-soluble components from the second gas phase to form a second hydrocarbon gas stream and a second gas-recovered mixture;
• forming in the separator a second combined gas-recovered aqueous phase and a second combined gas-recovered oil phase from the second gas-recovered mixture, the second oil phase, and the second aqueous phase;
• and
• recovering the second nitroalkane from at least one of the second combined gas-recovered aqueous phase and the second combined gas-recovered oil phase.