Catalytic Distillation Technologies

Chemical Research & Licensing Company

Bp Corporation North America Inc.

John R Adams

Lawrence A Smith, Jr

Abraham P Gelbein

Mitchell E Loescher

Dennis Hearn

Willibrord A Groten

Robert P Arganbright

Christopher C Boyer

Thomas P Hickey

Arvids Judzis, Jr

Gary G Podrebarac

Speros P Nemphos

J Yong Ryu

Edward M Jones, Jr

Hugh M Putman

Bryan Dotson

Clifford S Crossland

Herbert Sebastian

Yuanlin Jiang

Siyavash Motealleh

Arvids Judzis

Herbert M Sebastian

A new approach is disclosed for measuring the pressure of tight gas reservoirs, using information obtain from continuous injection prior to hydraulic fracture stimulation. The technique can be obtained utilizing either bottom-hole or surface pressure gauges and properly instrumented surface injection pumps. The analysis is completed by plotting injection and rate data in a specialized form from terms arranged in Darcy's radial flow equation to obtain a curve or trend. The key component to proper application of this technique is to obtain both baseline and one or more calibration data sets. These calibration data sets are obtained by either increasing or decreasing the injection pressure and/or rate from the baseline data. Initial reservoir pressure is assumed, but the calibration data indicates if the guess was too high or low. Accurate estimates of reservoir pressure may be obtained in a few iterations.

Method of determining reservoir pressure

A process for the selective hydrogenation of dienes and acetylenes in a mixed hydrocarbon stream from a pyrolysis steam cracker in which a front end a one step acetylene hydrogenation is carried out using catalyst comprising (A) 1 to 30 wt. % based on the total weight of the catalyst of a catalytic component of nickel only or nickel and one or more elements selected from the group consisting of copper, rhenium, palladium, zinc, gold, silver, magnesium, molybdenum, calcium and bismuth deposited on (B) a support having the a BET surface area of from 1 to about 100 m/gram, total nitrogen pore volume of from 0.2 to about 0.9 cc/gram and an average pore diameter of from about 110 to 450 &#x212b; under conditions of temperature and pressure to selectively hydrogenate acetylenes and dienes. The process hydrogenates the dienes and acetylenes to olefins without loss of ethylene and propylene in the light and heavy products which eliminates the need for further processing of the heavier stream. In addition the amount of polymerization in the lower part of the distillation column reactor is reduced.

Process and catalyst for selective hydrogenation of dienes and acetylenes

A process for reformate benzene reduction, the process including: feeding a light reformate fraction, an olefin feed, and an alkylation catalyst to an alkylation reaction zone; contacting the light reformate fraction and the olefin feed in the presence of the alkylation catalyst in the alkylation reaction zone to convert at least a portion of the benzene and the olefin to a monoalkylate; recovering a catalyst fraction from an alkylation reaction zone effluent; and recovering a light reformate product having a reduced benzene content.

Reformate benzene reduction via alkylation

An internal static mixing system such as a disperser of mesh wire or expanded metal co-knit with a multi filament material selected from inert polymers, catalytic polymers, catalytic metals or mixtures in combination with a vertical reactor having a reaction zone and the disperser disposed in said reaction zone, particularly for carrying out paraffin alkylation using acid catalyst is disclosed. The wire mesh provides the structural integrity of the system as well as the open space required in reactors for the movement of vapors and liquids though the system. The disperser may be in sheets, bundles or bales or positioned within a frame.

Contact structures

An energy efficient process scheme for a highly exothermic reaction-distillation system in which the reactor is external to the distillation column and the feed to the reactor is a mixture of at least one liquid product stream from the distillation column with or without other liquid/vapor reactants. The reactor is operated under adiabatic and boiling point conditions and at a pressure that results in vaporizing a portion of the liquid flow through the reactor due to the heat of reaction. Under these conditions, reaction temperature is controlled by reactor pressure. The pressure (and hence the temperature) is maintained at a sufficiently high level such that the reactor effluent can be efficiently used to provide reboil heat for the distillation column.

Energy efficient method for exothermic reactions

A process for the alkylation of alkane with olefin or olefin precursor such as an oligomer of tertiary olefin comprising contacting a liquid system comprising acid catalyst, isoparaffin and olefin in concurrent downflow into contact in a reaction zone with a disperser mesh under conditions of temperature and pressure to react said isoparaffin and said olefin to produce an alkylate product is disclosed. Preferably, the liquid system is maintained at about its boiling point in the reaction zone. Unexpectedly, the olefin oligomers have been found to function as olefin precursors and not as olefins in the reaction. Thus, for example, a cold acid alkylation using an oligomer of isobutene (principally dimer and trimer) with isobutane produces isooctane with the isobutane reacting with the constituent isobutene units of the oligomers on a molar basis. The product isooctane is essentially the same as that produced in the conventional cold acid process.

Paraffin alkylation

A process for removing acetylenic compounds using unsulfided metallic nickel or unsulfided metallic nickel modified with metallic Mo, Re, Bi or mixtures in which the catalyst is used alone or is used in combination with other acetylenic selective catalysts. The unsulfided metallic nickel catalyst or modified catalyst must be the first catalyst to contact the hydrocarbon stream.

Selective hydrogenation of acetylenes

A process for the production of propylene from the metathesis of ethylene and 2-butene is disclosed wherein a mixed Cstream is first treated to enrich and separate the 2-butene from 1-butene and isobutene by isomerization of 1-butene and concurrent fractional distillation of the 2-butene and isobutene to provide the 2-butene feed the metathesis with ethylene. In addition the mixed Cstream may be treated to remove mercaptans and dienes prior to 2-butene enrichment.

Olefin metathesis

A process for the etherification of C, Cand/or Ctertiary olefins in a hydrocarbon feed with at least one Cto Calcohol, preferably C&#x2013;Calcohols in a distillation column reactor, preferably where C's and C's ethers are co-produced, in which the amount of alcohol employed in the etherification is below that which will produce an azeotrope with hydrocarbons in the overheads from the distillation column reactor. The azeotrope results from the presence of unreacted alcohol in the reaction system in the distillation column reactor. The amount of alcohol is less than the stoichiometric amount, preferably less than 90%, more preferably 10 to 80%, of the stoichiometric amount and the overheads contain less than a stoichiometric of alcohol.

Etherification process

A process for producing vinyl acetate comprising reacting ethylene, acetic acid and oxygen together in at least partially liquid phase in the presence of a catalyst comprising a noble metal component.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

John R Adams