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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Methanol-gas saturator for catalytic conversion system

Patent ·
OSTI ID:5116014

This patent describes a reactor system for catalytically converting methanol to gasoline boiling range hydrocarbons by contacting methanol in a gaseous stream with an acid medium pore crystalline zeolite catalyst in a reaction zone. It comprises means for feeding a heated liquid methanol feedstream to a multi-phase gas-liquid saturator contact unit at an inlet temperature substantially below the feedstock boiling point under superatmospheric process pressure; means for contacting the feedstock in a contact tower with sufficient compressed recycle gas from the reactor system to partially vaporize feedstock, thereby forming a gaseous methanol-recycle stream, the contact tower having an upper liquid reactant feedstream inlet above a counter-current contact section, a lower recycle gas inlet, an upper gas outlet for removing vaporized methanol in mixture with recycle gas, and a lower liquid outlet for unvaporized methanol, whereby vaporized methanol can enter the reaction zone only with recycle diluent gas; adiabatic reactor means for contacting a heated gaseous methanol-recycle stream directly with a fixed catalyst bed in the reaction zone to convert methanol to gasoline hydrocarbon product and a gaseous by-product; means for cooling reactor system effluent in heat exchange relationship with the liquid methanol feedstream to heat the liquid methanol and recover liquid hydrocarbon product; separator means for separating gaseous by-product from the liquid hydrocarbon product; and means for compressing and recycling gaseous by-product from separator means to reactor means.

Assignee:
Mobil Oil Corp., New York, NY (USA)
Patent Number(s):
US 5008088; A
Application Number:
PPN: US 7-218184
OSTI ID:
5116014
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English