The Boc Group, Inc.

Loc H Dao

Ramakrishnan Ramachandran

Frank R Fitch

Donald L MacLean

Martin Bulow

Clair Wheeler

A hydrocarbon stream is cracked to produce a hot gaseous stream which is compressed and cooled to condense almost all of the hydrocarbons contained in the stream. A noncondensed stream remaining after the condensation step, comprised predominantly of hydrogen and C.sub.1 to C.sub.3 hydrocarbons, is subjected to pressure swing adsorption or temperature swing adsorption at an adsorption temperature of about 0.degree. to about 250.degree. C. in a bed of adsorbent which selectively adsorbs ethylene and propylene, thereby adsorbing substantially all of the ethylene and propylene from the gas stream. The ethylene and/or propylene is recovered upon bed regeneration.

Process for recovering alkenes from cracked hydrocarbon streams

Sulfur compounds are removed from gaseous carbon dioxide by contacting the carbon dioxide with water vapor in the presence of a carbonyl sulfide hydrolysis catalyst, thereby converting carbonyl sulfide in the gas stream to hydrogen sulfide, contacting the resulting gas stream with ferric oxide, thereby removing hydrogen sulfide from the gas stream as elemental sulfur, and contacting the remaining gas stream with copper oxide, zinc oxide or mixtures of these, thereby removing any remaining sulfur compounds from the gaseous carbon dioxide.

Process for the purification of carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is removed from a gas stream by passing the gas stream through a bed of natural or synthetic clinoptilolite or their chemically-modified derivatives. The process is particularly advantageous when applied to the removal of ppm levels of carbon dioxide from gas streams at temperatures above 20.degree. C.

Removal of carbon dioxide from gas streams

An ethene stream which contains ethane as an impurity or a propene stream which contains propane as an impurity is hydrated with water vapor in the presence of a hydration catalyst to produce ethanol or isopropanol, respectively. After removal of the alcohol the gaseous product stream is subjected to adsorption, thereby producing an ethene-enriched stream or a propene-enriched stream. The ethene-enriched stream or the propene-enriched stream is recycled to the hydration reactor.

Process for the production of ethanol and isopropanol

An ethylene stream which contains ethane as an impurity or a propylene stream which contains propane as an impurity is contacted with a polymerization catalyst thereby producing a polymer product containing unreacted ethylene or propylene and the corresponding alkane. A gas mixture containing ethylene or propylene and the corresponding alkane is separated from the polymer product and subjected to adsorption at a temperature of 50.degree. to 200.degree. C. in a bed of adsorbent which selectively adsorbs alkenes, thereby adsorbing substantially all of the propylene or ethylene from the gas mixture. The ethylene or propylene is desorbed from the adsorbent and recycled to the polymerization zone. The process is operated on a low per pass conversion with recycle of unreacted monomer. In the system of the invention the adsorption unit may be upstream or downstream of the polymerization reactor.

Process for the production of alkene polymers

An ethylene stream which contains ethane as an impurity or a propylene stream which contains propane as an impurity is subjected to adsorption at a temperature of 50.degree. to 200.degree. C. in a bed of adsorbent which selectively adsorbs ethylene or propylene, thereby adsorbing substantially all of the ethylene or propylene. The purified ethylene or propylene stream is then subjected to partial oxidation in the presence of oxygen and, optionally ammonia to produce various partial oxidation products. The process is operated on a low per pass conversion with recycle of unreacted ethylene or propylene. In the system of the invention the adsorption unit may be upstream or downstream of the partial oxidation reactor.

Process for the production of hydrocarbon partial oxidation products

A propylene stream which contains propane as an impurity is contacted with carbon monoxide and hydrogen in the presence of a hydroformylation catalyst thereby producing a product stream containing butyraldehyde and/or n-butyl alcohol, unreacted propylene and propane. A gas mixture containing propylene and propane is separated from the product stream and subjected to adsorption at a temperature of 0.degree. to 250.degree. C. in a bed of adsorbent which selectively adsorbs propylene, thereby adsorbing substantially all of the propylene from the gas mixture. The propylene is desorbed from the adsorbent and recycled to the reaction zone. The process is operated on a low per pass conversion with recycle of unreacted propylene. In the system of the invention the propylene adsorption unit may be upstream or downstream of the hydroformylation reactor.

Process for the production of oxo products

Method of separating a gaseous alkene from a gaseous alkane by a pressure swing adsorption process unit alone or in combination with the distillation column wherein the alkene is preferentially adsorbed onto a bed of 4A zeolite at a temperature of about 50.degree. to about 200.degree. C.

Method of producing unsaturated hydrocarbons and separating the same

An improved process is provided for the production of a partial oxidation product by the vapor phase reaction of a hydrocarbon with substantially pure oxygen in the presence of a suitable catalyst. In the improved process, the partial oxidation product is removed, carbon dioxide and excess carbon monoxide, present in the reactor effluent as by-products, are also removed and the remaining gaseous effluent, comprised mainly of carbon monoxide and unreacted hydrocarbon, is recycled to the reactor. The concentration of carbon monoxide throughout the system is maintained sufficiently high to prevent the formation of a flammable mixture in the reactor or associated equipment.

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Bound Brook, NJ, United States of America

Loc H Dao