Uop Lcc

Bruce A Briggs

Constante P Tagamolila

Kevin J Brandner

William Wiede, Jr

Santi Kulprathipanja

William A Leet

Donald E Felch

Donald Eelch

A process and apparatus for contacting reactants with a particulate catalyst while indirectly heating the reactants with a heat exchange medium improves temperature control by using an intermediate heat exchange fluid and system to prevent overheating of reactants and maintain parallel heating characteristics through multiple reaction-heat exchange zones. The internal flow path minimizes the circulation of the reaction zone heat exchange fluid by incorporating interstage reheating of the reaction zone heat exchange fluid as it passes in series flow. A particularly useful application of the process and apparatus is in the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to produce styrene. The process and apparatus can also be used with simultaneous exchange of catalyst particles by an operation that restricts reactant flow while moving catalyst through reaction stacks in which the reactant flow has been restricted.

Process and apparatus for controlling reaction temperatures with heating arrangement in series flow

A process for the production of a carboxylic acid in the presence of solid catalyst particles that uses the exothermic heat of reaction with high efficiency in recovering the carboxylic acid product is disclosed. This process uses indirect heat exchange to transfer the heat of reaction to another stream, without the need for an additional heat transfer fluid such as steam. This invention is especially applicable to the production of acetic acid.

Carbonylation process with integrated heat exchange

A process and apparatus for contacting reactants with a particulate catalyst while indirectly heating the reactants with a heat exchange medium improves temperature control by using an intermediate heat exchange fluid and system to prevent overheating of reactants and maintain parallel heating characteristics through multiple reaction-heat exchange zones. The internal flow path minimizes the circulation of the reaction zone heat exchange fluid by incorporating interstage reheating of the reaction zone heat exchange fluid as it passes in series flow. A particularly useful application of the process and apparatus is in the dehydrogenation of ethyl benzene to produce styrene. The process and apparatus can also be used with simultaneous exchange of catalyst particles by an operation that restricts reactant flow while moving catalyst through reaction stacks in which the reactant flow has been restricted.

Process and apparatus for controlling reaction temperatures with heating

A process is disclosed for performing an exothermic reaction such as the etherification of isobutylene with methanol. The feed is charged to a vertical reaction zone containing a solid catalyst. Heat released by the exothermic reaction partially vaporizes the reactants, with the vapors traveling upward to a condensing zone. All of the condensable vapors entering the condensing zone are condensed and returned downward to the catalyst bed. A single effluent stream made up of the product, excess reactants and any unreactive compounds present in the feed streams is removed from the bottom of the reaction zone. This total reflux reaction zone allows temperature control within a catalyst bed without the use of indirect heat exchangers located within the reaction zone.

Mixed-phase hydrocarbon conversion process employing total overhead

A hydrocarbon conversion process which net high purity isobutane feed streams into two product streams containing an ether such as methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) by reaction with methanol or ethanol. The isobutylene, alcohol and a recycle stream containing C.sub.4 hydrocarbons, alcohol and the product ether are passed through an etherification zone. The total etherification zone effluent stream is separated in a single fractionation column. Preferably the new overhead of the fractionation column is divided into the recycle stream and a second portion which is combined with a portion of the bottoms of this column to produce a gasoline grade MTBE product stream. The remainder of the fractionation column bottoms is a second product stream of chemical grade MTBE.

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Carol Stream, IL, United States of America

Bruce A Briggs