Isomerization of C.sub.4 alkenes

Patent · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1984

OSTI ID:865253

A method for isomerizing isobutene or n-butene to produce a mixture of isobutene and normal butene, and polymerizing at least a portion thereof to produce isobutene/n-butene codimer, which comprieses feeding at least 80 weight % of either the isobutene or n-butene to a catalytic distillation reactor containing a fixed bed acidic cation exchange resin catalyst packing which provides both the catalyst sites and distillation sites for the reaction products, isomerizing a portion of the isobutene or n-butene to produce a mixture of isobutene and n-butene and reacting at least a portion of the isobutene and n-butene to form codimer of isobutene and n-butene, whereby an overhead fraction containing any unreacted isobutene and n-butene and a bottoms fraction containing codimer is produced. The result of the reaction is substantially the same regardless whether the feed is isobutene or n-butene. Other aspects of the invention, include combinations of procedures to produce high purity isobutene and n-butene. Either isobutene or n-butene product (depending on the desired product) can be recycled as feed, thus substantially carrying out the isomerization to extinction and total conversion to the desired product.

• Research Organization: CR & L/NEOCHEM JOINT VENTURE
• DOE Contract Number: FC07-80CS40454
• Assignee: Chemical Research & Licensing Company (Houston, TX)
• Patent Number(s): US 4482775
• OSTI ID: 865253
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/585/203/
80
acidic
acidic cation
alkenes
aspects
bed
bed acid
bottoms
bottoms fraction
butene
carrying
catalyst
catalytic
catalytic distillation
cation
cation exchange
codimer
combinations
comprieses
containing
conversion
depending
desired
desired product
distillation
distillation reactor
exchange
exchange resin
extinction
feed
feeding
fixed
fixed bed
form
fraction
fraction containing
isobutene
isomerization
isomerizing
method
mixture
n-butene
normal
normal butene
overhead
packing
polymerizing
portion
procedures
produce
produced
product
products
provides
purity
reacting
reaction
reaction product
reaction products
reactor
reactor containing
recycled
regardless
resin
resin catalyst
result
sites
substantially
total
unreacted
weight
whereby