Mobil Oil Corporation

Dimitris K Liguras

Stephen Harold Brown

David Lawrence Stern

Jeffrey S Beck

Ivy Dawn Johnson

Jeevan S Abichandani

Ronald J Cimini

Selma Kwok

A method for minimizing the loss of xylenes in an ethylbenzene conversion/isomerization process by adding toluene to the feedstock. The concentration of toluene in the feedstock is increased by co-feeding toluene or by recycling toluene separated from the ethylbenzene conversion reactor effluent. The increased toluene concentration reduces the loss of xylenes during the ethylbenzene conversion reaction and under preferred operating conditions increases the amount of xylenes in the product.

Xylene isomerization process using toluene co-feed

A method for increasing the efficiency of xylene isomerization by using a two stage isomerization process. In the first stage of the process, a C.sub.9.sup.+ aromatics feedstock is subjected to ethylbenzene conversion and xylene isomerization. Non-C.sub.8 aromatics are removed from the effluent, which is then processed in a second stage of the process to remove para-xylene and isomerize the para-xylene depleted effluent. The effluent from the second stage isomerization unit is then recycled into the inlet of the second stage of the process and a slip stream from the para-xylene separator is recycled to the feedstock and to the effluent of the ethylbenzene conversion unit. In this way, the production of para-xylene is maximized. In a preferred embodiment, toluene is co-fed into the feedstock to minimize the loss of xylenes during the ethylbenzene conversion reaction.

Dual-loop xylene isomerization process

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Mantua, NJ, United States of America

Dimitris K Liguras