Patent ID: 6437195
Filing Date: 2002-08-20
Classification: C07C,C10L,Y02P

Abstract:
A process for the catalytic production of a mixture of oxygenated organic compounds suitable as a blending component of fuel for use in compression ignition internal combustion engines, which process comprises providing a feedstream comprising methanol, a soluble condensation promoting component capable of activating a heterogeneous acidic catalyst, and a source of formaldehyde formed by the conversion of methanol in the presence of a catalyst comprising copper and zinc as catalyst components which source of formaldehyde comprises from about 30 to about 85 percent by weight formaldehyde in methanol solution containing less than about 5 percent water; heating the feedstream with the heterogeneous acidic catalyst under conditions of reaction sufficient to form an effluent of condensation comprising water, methanol, methylal and one or more polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers which methylal and polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers have structures represented by the formulaCH3O(CH2O)nCH3 where n is a number from 1 to about 10; wherein the heating of the feedstream with the acidic catalyst is carried out in at least one catalytic distillation column having internal and/or external stages of contact with the acidic catalyst, an anion exchange resin disposed within a section of the distillation column below the stages of contact with the acidic catalyst, and internal zones to separate methylal from higher polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers thereby obtaining an overhead fraction containing methylal and an essentially methylal-free bottom fraction containing polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers having values of n greater than 1.