Ether prodn. from alcohol and olefin - using molecular sieve to separate ether from unreacted alcohol

• Main Author: DANIEL DEFIVES ET QUANG DANG VU
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 05.09.1980
• Subjects: ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS; CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY; ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

Prodn. of ethers is carried out by (a) reacting an alcohol with >=1 tert. olefin in the presence of an acid catalyst to produce an effluent contg. ether, unreacted alcohol and unreacted hydrocarbon(s); (b) contacting the effluent with a molecular sieve capable of adsorbing the alcohol but not the ether; (c) distilling the non-adsorbed prod. to separate the ether from the hydrocarbon(s); (d) periodically interrupting step (b) and contacting the alcohol-laden molecular sieve with a stripping gas at a temp. sufficient to desorb the alcohol; and (e) adjusting the temp. and pressure of the effluent gas from step (d) to condense the alcohol. The process is esp. useful for producing methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE) from C4 hydrocarbon streams contg. isobutene; MTBE is a gasoline blending stock. The process avoids problems of azeotrope formation during distn. without resorting to high-pressure distn. or water washing. UN ALCOOL EST MIS A REAGIR DE MANIERE CONNUE AVEC UNE OLEFINE EN PRESENCE D'UN CATALYSEUR ACIDE POUR PRODUIRE UN ETHER.L'EFFLUENT DU REACTEUR EST TRAITE PAR UN TAMIS MOLECULAIRE POUR ADSORBER L'ALCOOL RESIDUEL, CE QUI PERMET DE RECUEILLIR L'ETHER.LE PROCEDE EST APPLICABLE, EN PARTICULIER, AU METHYL TERTIOBUTYL ETHER, OBTENU PAR REACTION DU METHANOL AVEC L'ISOBUTENE.