DI-ISOPROPYL ETHER PRODUCTION

• Main Authors: BEECH, JAMES HARDING JR, SOTO, JORGE LUIS, STOOS, JAMES ARTHUR, WU, ALBERT HWAIYANG, MILLER, DOUGLAS
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 01.09.1994
• Edition: 6
• Subjects: ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS; CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOIDCHEMISTRY; CHEMISTRY; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION ORPROCESSING OF GOODS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; METALLURGY; ORGANIC CHEMISTRY; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS; TRANSPORTING

A process for the production of diisopropyl ether by conversion of hydrocarbon feedstock containing propene, propane and C2light gas components, including the steps of: contacting the feedstock and water in a catalytic reactor with acidic catalyst under olefin hydration and etherification conditions; and recovering from the catalytic reactor a liquid reactor effluent stream containing diisopropyl ether, isopropanol, water, unreacted propene, propane and C2 - light gas components. Improved operation is achieved by separating the liquid effluent stream in a vertical stripper column; recovering an overhead vapor stream containing propene, propane and C2 - light gas components from the stripper column; cooling the overhead vapor stream to provide a reflux stream rich in condensed propene and propane; removing the C2 - light gas components from condensed; recycling the reflux stream to an upper contact portion of the stripper column; and recovering a predominantly C3 recycle stream from the upper contact portion of the stripper column.