Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

David C Spence

William A Schwartz

Stanley Gussow

This invention relates to an improvement in a process for producing isobutylene by the cyclic, adiabatic dehydrogenation of isobutane. The improvement resides in diluting an isobutane feed stream with n-butane in an amount from about 3-7% by volume and recycling unreacted products plus nC.sub.4 unsaturates from the dehydrogenation zone. Additional coke is made by virtue of the use of n-butane and recycle to permit lower feed input temperature.

Heat balance control in catalytic dehydrogenation of isobutane

This invention relates to a process for producing a high purity butene-1 product from n-butane via a dehydrogenation process. In one embodiment of the process the n-butane is dehydrogenated over a chromia-alumina catalyst and any butadiene formed hydrogenated to monoolefins. The monoolefins are separated and the butene-1 separated from isobutylene by reacting the isobutylene with methanol to form methyl tertiary butyl ether. The methyl tertiary butyl ether is separated from the butene-1 leaving it as a high purity product. Alternatively, the dehydrogenated product from the reactor may be contacted with a solvent to extract butadiene followed by hydrogenation, separation of monoolefins and conversion to methyl tertiary butyl ether.

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Coopersburg, PA, United States of America

David C Spence