Gas clean-up for alkane oxidative dehydrogenation effluent

Abstract

The invention relates to a process for the production of an alkene by alkane oxidative dehydrogenation, comprising: (a) subjecting a stream comprising an alkane to oxidative dehydrogenation conditions, comprising contacting the alkane with oxygen in the presence of a catalyst comprising a mixed metal oxide, resulting in a stream comprising alkene, unconverted alkane, water, carbon dioxide, unconverted oxygen, carbon monoxide and optionally an alkyne; (b) removing water from at least part of the stream comprising alkene, unconverted alkane, water, carbon dioxide, unconverted oxygen, carbon monoxide and optionally an alkyne resulting from step (a), resulting in a stream comprising alkene, unconverted alkane, carbon dioxide, unconverted oxygen, carbon monoxide and optionally alkyne; (c) removing unconverted oxygen, carbon monoxide and optionally alkyne from at least part of the stream comprising alkene, unconverted alkane, carbon dioxide, unconverted oxygen, carbon monoxide and optionally alkyne resulting from step (b), wherein carbon monoxide and optionally alkyne are oxidized into carbon dioxide, resulting in a stream comprising alkene, unconverted alkane and carbon dioxide; (d) optionally removing carbon dioxide from at least part of the stream comprising alkene, unconverted alkane in and carbon dioxide resulting from step (c), resulting in a stream comprising alkene and unconverted alkane; (e) optionally separating at least part of the stream comprising alkene and unconverted alkane resulting from step (d), into a stream comprising alkene and a stream comprising unconverted alkane; (f) optionally recycling unconverted alkane from at least part of the stream comprising unconverted alkane resulting from step (e), to step (a).