Texaco Chemical Company

Chung-Nan T Wu

Mark E Taylor

Mark A Mueller

Kyle Lee Preston

In a regulated process wherein propylene is reacted with tertiary butyl hydroperoxide in solution in tertiary butyl alcohol to produce propylene oxide and tertiary butyl alcohol in a reactor system comprising a first isothermal segment comprising a plurality of at least four sequentially interconnected internally cooled reactors, and a second adiabatic segment, an initial feed mixture is continuously charged to the first reactor, comprising propylene and a recycle stream composed of about 25 to about 75 wt. % of the combined weight of said propylene and said recycle stream, a plurality of feed streams comprising a tertiary butyl alcohol solution of tertiary butyl hydroperoxide and molybdenum catalyst are charged to each of at least four sequentially interconnected reactors, and about 60 to 80 wt % of the tertiary butyl hydroperoxide is converted in the isothermal segment; the recycle stream being removed at the end of the isothermal segment and the remainder of the intermediate reaction mixture being passed through the adiabatic segment where additional tertiary butyl hydroperoxide is converted.

Controlled epoxidation of propylene

In reacting tertiary butyl hydroperoxide in solution in tertiary butyl alcohol with propylene to produce propylene oxide and tertiary butyl alcohol in a reactor system comprising a first isothermal segment and a second adiabatic segment about 60 to 80 wt % of the tertiary butyl hydroperoxide is converted in the isothermal segment to provide an intermediate reaction mixture, a recycle stream comprising about 25 to 100 wt. % of the combined weight of the propylene and the tertiary butyl alcohol solution is removed from the intermediate reaction mixture and recycled to the first isothermal segment and the remainder of the intermediate reaction mixture is passed through the adiabatic segment where an additional 20 to 40 wt. % of the tertiary butyl hydroperoxide is converted.

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Houston, TX, United States of America

Chung-Nan T Wu