Sasol Technology Proprietary Limited

Alta Ranwell

Hester De Wet

A process for the production of dimers from an olefinic feedstock containing &agr;-olefins, by contacting the feedstock with a metallocene/aluminoxane catalyst, thereby selectively to dimerize &agr;-olefins in the feedstock by way of a metallocene-catalyzed dimerization reaction. The feedstock is in the form of a Fischer-Tropsch-derived definic feedstock involving a mixture of Fischer-Tropsch-derived hydrocarbons made up of at most 90% by mass of &agr;-olefins, at least 5% by mass of olefins, other than &agr;-olefins, selected from linear internal olefins, branched internal olefins, cyclic olefins, dienes, trienes and mixtures thereof, at least 5% by mass of constituents, other than olefins, selected from paraffins, oxygenated hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons and mixtures thereof. The metallocene-catalyzed dimerization reaction takes place while the olefins which are dimerized form part of the mixture constituted by the feedstock.

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Vanderbijlpark, South Africa

Alta Ranwell