Mobil Oil Corporation

James A Stoos

James H Beech, Jr

Sergei Yurchak

Francis P Ragonese

Robert A Ware

Albert H Wu

Douglas Miller

Jorge Luis Soto

Hartley Owen

Mohsen N Harandi

Stephen S Wong

Arthur A Chin

Roland Bernard Saeger

Charles M Sorensen

Frank P Ragonese

An improved process for production of diisopropyl ether by conversion of hydrocarbon feedstock containing propene, propane and C.sub.2 -- light gas components. The overall process steps include, (optionally) prefractionating fresh feedstock containing propene, propane and C.sub.2 -- light gas components to provide a reactor feedstream rich in propene; contacting the feedstock and water in a catalytic reactor with acidic catalyst under olefin hydration and etherification conditions; and recovering from the catalytic reactor a liquid reactor effluent stream containing diisopropyl ether, isopropanol, water, unreacted propene, propane, oligomer and C.sub.2 -- light gas components. DIPE product containing C.sub.6 + oligomer is recovered by separating the liquid effluent stream in a stripper column, and extracting the DIPE-rich liquid with water. An improved separation process is employed for removing water to provide DIPE liquid product substantially free of water.

Di-isopropyl ether synthesis and dry product recovery

A process is disclosed for producing alkyl tertiary alkyl ether such as TAME from alkanol and hydrocarbon feedstock containing linear olefins, iso-olefins, linear alkanes and iso-alkanes such as C5 streams from FCC. The process selectively etherifies iso-olefins in a plural stage etherification zone whose linear olefin-containing effluent is treated by distillation to remove iso-alkanes, and alkanol before passing to a skeletal isomerization zone using constrained intermediate pore size zeolite catalyst such as ZSM-22, ZSM-23, or ZSM-35, which converts linear olefins to iso-olefins which are cycled for etherification. The use of distillation to remove iso-alkanes and alkanol reduces mass flow to the etherification process and minimizes skeletal isomerization catalyst poisoning by alkanol, without resort to water extraction processes which require subsequent treatment of the isomerization zone feed to remove water.

Process for the conversion of C5 linear olefins to tertiary alkyl ethers

A process for production of diisopropyl ether by conversion of hydrocarbon feedstock containing propene, propane and C.sub.2 - light gas components, including the steps of: optionally, prefractionating fresh feedstock containing propene, propane and C.sub.2 - light gas components to provide a reactor feedstream rich in propene; contacting the feedstock and water in a catalytic reactor with acidic catalyst under olefin hydration and etherification conditions; and recovering from the catalytic reactor a liquid reactor effluent stream containing diisopropyl ether, isopropanol, water, unreacted propene, propane and C.sub.2 - light gas components. Improved operation is achieved by separating the liquid effluent stream in a vertical stripper column; recovering an overhead vapor stream containing propene, propane and C.sub.2 - light gas components from the stripper column; cooling the overhead vapor stream to provide a reflux stream rich in condensed propene and propane; removing the C.sub.2 - light gas components from condensed; recycling the reflux stream to an upper contact portion of the stripper column; and recovering a predominantly C3 recycle stream from the upper contact portion of the stripper column. Optionally, the C3 recycle stream may be passed to the to the prefractioning step for propene enrichment with fresh feedstock.

Di-isopropyl ether production

A method for starting up a fixed bed propylene hydration reactor containing shape selective metallosilicate catalyst particles for the production of isopropanol and/or diisopropyl ether is disclosed comprising the following sequential steps: contacting a feedstream comprising propane with catalyst particles in a hydration reactor; then introducing a feedstream comprising isopropanol into the reactor to displace propane. Next, a feedstream comprising propylene is introduced into the reactor under etherification conditions. Finally, a feedstream is introduced in the reactor comprising water under etherification and hydration reaction conditions whereby diisopropyl ether and isopropanol are produced.

Process for starting up an olefin hydration reactor

A process for production of dialkyl ether by hydration and etherification of olefinic feedstock containing at least one lower alkene by contacting the olefinic feedstock and water in a catalytic reaction zone with porous solid metallosilicate acidic catalyst under olefin hydration and etherification conditions. Improvement is achieved by recovering a first fluid effluent stream from the reaction zone; splitting the first fluid effluent stream into a liquid product recovery stream and a fluid recycle stream; and passing the fluid recycle stream consisting essentially of olefin, alcohol and ether in effluent stream proportions for feeding to the reaction zone along with fresh olefinic feedstock and fresh water, wherein the amount of fluid recycle stream is sufficient to maintain a homogeneous single fluid reaction phase in the reaction zone.

Catalytic olefin hydration for ether production

In the diisopropyl ether production process, the distallation step for the separation of aqueous IPA recovered from the DIPE extraction operations is modified to avoid carrying out the distillation under conditions that yield IPA-water azeotrope providing lower overall process cost. The determination has been made that the overhead and bottom streams form an aqueous IPA fractionation process operated under off-azeotrope conditions in DIPE production can be recycled, respectively, to the DIPE reactor and extractor operations. Recycling the water and IPA overhead mixture eliminates the requirement for adding fresh water to the DIPE reactor. Returning the water and IPA bottom stream to the extractor reduces the requirement for distilled water addition to the extraction step. As a consequence, a less complex and costly aqueous IPA separation process is implemented.

Advances in product separation in DIPE process

A process for production of ether by hydration and etherification of olefinic feedstock containing at least one lower alkene by contacting the olefinic feedstock and water in a plurality of catalytic reaction zones containing porous solid metal oxide acidic olefin hydration and etherification catalyst under olefin hydration and etherification conditions. Improved operation is achieved by recovering a first effluent stream from at least one fixed bed hydration zone, splitting the first effluent stream into a product recovery stream and a plurality of recycle streams, and passing at least a portion of cooled recycle streams comprising olefin, alcohol and ether in effluent stream component proportions for quenching at least one fixed bed reaction zone to control temperature of hot effluent from a preceding reaction zone.

Reactor quenching for catalytic olefin hydration in ether production

A process for upgrading of unstable olefins, naphthas, and dienes, such as coker naphthas, is disclosed. The olefins in the unstable naphthas are oligomerized over a shape selective zeolite to gasoline and distillate products. The dienes are catalytically converted by the same zeolite. Preferably, hydrogen is added to increase catalyst life. Feed pretreatment, to remove basic nitrogen compounds also improves catalyst life. Water washing of coker naphtha is the preferred method of removing basic nitrogen compounds.

Process for upgrading unstable naphthas

A process for oligomerizing C2 to C10 olefins obtained by catalytic cracking of heavy crude oil is disclosed. The olefins are oligomerized in the presence of added hydrogen over a shape selective zeolite to gasoline and distillate products. Feed pretreatment, to remove basic nitrogen compounds present in light olefin stream in refinery, with water wash or a guard bed is practiced improves catalyst life.

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Blackwood, NJ, United States of America

James A Stoos