Ether production

Abstract: A process for preparing lower molecular weight unsymmetrical ethers such as methyl t-butyl (MTBE) and t-amyl methyl ether (TAME) from an iso-olefin and methanol, the process comprising a preliminary step of contacting the iso-olefin and methanol with a medium-pore zeolite catalyst in at least one reaction zone to convert the iso-olefin and methanol to an unsymmetrical ether, and then feeding effluent from the preliminary step to an etherification reaction zone containing a macroreticular polystyrenesulfonic acid resin catalyst.

Description: The present invention relates to a multi-stage process and apparatus for producing unsymmetrical tertiary ethers in high yield and purity. It is desirable to increase gasoline octane performance without the addition of deleterious components such as tetraethyl lead and benzene. It has been found that lower molecular weight unsymmetrical ethers such as MTBE and TAME can be added to C₅-C₁₀ hydrocarbon-containing gasoline products in order to increase octane number. The research octane number (RON) of MTBE has been listed at 115-135, its motor octane number (MON) as 98-110, and its blending octane number ((RON & MON)/2) as 106-122.5. Blending octane number rises when MTBE concentration is decreased and when saturates concentration of the base fuel is increased. Conventional etherification processes use as catalyst a macroreticular cation exchange resin such as "Amberlyst 15" in the hydrogen form. A resin catalyst gives a high conversion rate but is unstable at elevated temperatures (above about 90 o C). When overheated, the resin catalyst releases sulfonic and sulfuric acids. In addition, leaching of acid substances from the resin catalyst even at normal operating temperatures causes a reverse action - decomposition of ether products to starting materials - to occur upon distillation of ether product. Overall yield is thereby significantly decreased. Moreover resin catalysts are vulnerable to poisoning by materials such as sulphur, organic nitrogen, metals and water. They are also susceptible to activity loss on regeneration. Conventional etherification processes are usually conducted in the liquid phase at a temperature below 90 o C and at a pressure of about 14.6 bar (200 psig). Equilibrium is more favorable at lower temperatures but the reaction rate decreases significantly. Also excess methanol appears to be required to achieve acceptable selectivity. It is known (e.g. EP-A-55045) to use acid medium-pore zeolite catalysts for highly selective conversion of iso-olefin and alcohol starting materials to ethers. Examples of such zeolites are ZSM-4, ZSM-5, ZSM-11, ZSM-12, ZSM-23, ZSM-35, ZSM-50 and zeolite Beta. Due to lower acidity as compared to resin catalysts, the zeolites need to be employed at higher reaction temperature to achieve the desired conversion rates. The zeolite catalysts are much more thermally stable than resin catalysts, are less sensitive to methanol-to-isobutene ratio, give no acid effluent, and are easily and quickly regenerated. According to the invention a process for producing unsymmetrical tertiary alkyl ethers from an isoalkene-containing C₄+ hydrocarbon feedstock comprises contacting said feedstock together with an aliphatic alcohol with an inorganic metal oxide catalyst under conditions to effect partial etherification of iosalkene, contacting the resulting mixture of ether, unreacted alcohol and unreacted alkene with an acid resin catalyst under such conditions as substantially to complete the etherification of isoalkene, and recovering a C₅+ tertiary alkyl ether product. Preferably the metal oxide catalyst is periodically regenerated to remove coke and feedstock impurities and to restore its catalytic activity. It is further preferred that said mixture be contacted with the resin catalyst in a distillation column containing the resin catalyst in a plurality of fixed bed catalysis-distillation zones. The feedstock and alcohol may be contacted with the metal oxide catalyst in one of a plurality of fixed bed reactors each of which is operatively connected to swing between production and regeneration. Alternatively they may be contacted with a fluidized bed of the metal oxide catalyst from which bed a portion of the catalyst may be withdrawn, regenerated, and returned to the bed. Feedstock and alcohol may also be contacted with catalyst in a slurry type reactor. Whatever type of reactor is used, feedstock and alcohol may be contacted with metal oxide catalyst in at least two successive reaction zones in which each succeeding zone is maintained at a temperature at least 5 o C lower than that of its predecessor. When the resin catalyst is used in a distillation column reaction may be carried out in the distillation column at a temperature 10 to 30 o C lower than the temperature at which the partial etherification is effected. The recovered ether product is advantageously further purified by fractionation. The regeneration of the metal oxide catalyst may be effected by stripping with a stream of hydrogen at 371 to 538 o C. It is preferred that the metal oxide catalyst comprise a medium pore zeolite, particularly a zeolite which has the structure of ZSM-5, ZSM-11, ZSM-50 or zeolite beta. The resin catalyst preferably comprises a polymeric sulphonic acid resin, such as a macroreticular polystyrenesulphonic acid resin. An important feature of the process of the invention is that there is effected, in the course of the partial etherification, the removal of butadiene, isoprene, cyclopentadiene and/or N, Al, Fe, Na and/or Mg-containing impurities from the reactants. In a favored embodiment the feedstock consists predominantly of C4 hydrocarbons and contains isobutene, which constitutes at least 10 wt% of the feedstock. However the isoalkene component of the feeds may be a higher alkene, such as isoamylene. The aliphatic alcohol is usually methanol, ethanol or isopropanol, and the partial etherification conditions usually include operation in the liquid phase. In one of its aspects, the present invention comprises a multistage process for etherifying a mixed C₄+ olefinic hydrocarbon feedstock containing isoalkenes. The multistage process comprises contacting olefinic feedstock and aliphatic alcohol in a first reaction stage under partial etherification conditions with a regenerable inorganic metal oxide acid solid catalyst to convert a major amount of the isoalkene to C₅+ tertiary-alkyl ether. A reaction effluent is recovered from the first stage, the reaction effluent containing ether product, unreacted alcohol and unreacted olefin including isoalkene. The first stage reaction effluent is charged to a second stage catalytic distillation column containing solid acid resin etherification catalyst in a plurality of fixed bed catalysis-distillation zones. In the second stage substantially full etherification of the isoalkene is completed. A liquid product containing C₅+ ethers is recovered from the catalytic distillation column. The first stage solid catalyst can be regenerated to remove feedstock impurity and coke and to restore acid activity. Reactivated catalyst can be returned to the first stage for continued ether production. Regeneration of a metal oxide catalyst such as ZSM-5 is considerably more cost effective than purifying a contaminated acid resin catalyst. The single Figure of the Drawings is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the invention, showing major operating units and flow of reactants and products. In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides a process for the preparation of MTBE wherein selectivity and yield are increased and destruction of resin catalyst is greatly decreased. Two reaction zones are maintained in series arrangement. A first reaction zone contains solid crystalline acid medium-pore metallosilicate catalyst particles. A second reaction zone contains acid resin catalyst. Mixed feedstock containing methanol and isobutene-containing C₄ hydrocarbons is contacted with solid catalyst particles in the first reaction zone under etherification conditions to obtain an intermediate product comprising MTBE and unreacted feedstock. The intermediate product is then withdrawn from the first reaction zone and added to the second zone for contact with acid resin catalyst under etherification conditions. A product containing a major amount of MTBE is then withdrawn from the second reaction zone. The product is fractionated to obtain a purified MTBE which is recovered. The preferred present process further comprises removing the first reaction zone from on-line contact with the feedstock, regenerating the solid catalyst particles in the first reaction zone, and resuming addition of feedstock to the first reaction zone. The preferred solid acid catalyst particles are aluminosilicate zeolites selected from ZSM-5, ZSM-11, ZSM-50 and zeolite Beta. Since the mixed olefinic feedstock contains many impurities, even after treatment in a "Merox" unit and a water wash, the solid acid zeolite catalyst becomes highly contaminated after a period of on-line contact with feedstock. Some of the impurities which are absorbed on the zeolite particles are: nitrogen compounds; metals such as Al, Fe, Na and Mg; and oligomers of olefins and diolefins, such as isoprene and cyclopentadiene. Diolefinic compounds and other related hydrocarbons are deposited as coke on the surface and interstices of the catalytic particles. It is therefore an important advantage of the present process that feedstock impurities are removed in the first reaction zone concurrently with the preparation of ethers, the mixed oxide catalyst acting in effect as a guard bed which protects the resin catalyst downstream from contamination. The first reaction zone preferably comprises a plurality of catalytic fixed bed reactors operatively connected for swing from production mode to regeneration mode in alternating sequence. A continuous operation is thus maintained when a fixed bed must be removed from service for catalyst to be regenerated. In one embodiment of the process, the first reaction zone comprises at least three catalytic fixed bed reactors of which two remain operative at all times. Thus iso-olefin-containing feedstock and alcohol contact acid medium-pore zeolite catalyst in a sequential fashion in the first reaction zone. In an alternative embodiment, the first reaction zone contains reactors others than fixed bed, such as moving bed, slurry, fluidized bed, or ebullated bed. The number and type of reactors which contain acid zeolite catalyst may be adjusted to optimize both product yield and overall energy consumption. Catalyst regeneration can be achieved by contacting contaminated zeolite catalyst particles with oxygen or oxygen-containing gas in a regeneration zone under conditions of temperature and pressure sufficient to remove at least a major amount of impurities from the catalyst particles. Typical oxidative regeneration conditions are 371-510 o C (700-950 o F) and 1-14.6 bar (0-200 psig). In an alternative embodiment zeolite catalyst particles can be regenerated by stripping with a hot stream of hydrogen gas at a temperature of about 371-538 o C (700-1000 o F). Hydrogen stripping avoids the problem of inactivating the catalyst by "steaming" which can occur under oxidative regeneration conditions due to water formation. Since zeolite catalyst particles are readily regenerated, the mixed olefinic feedstock can contain a significant amount of impurities. If desired, the step of washing the feedstream with water can be eliminated. Isobutene-containing feedstreams of low quality can thus be employed in resin-catalyzed etherification reactions. The second reaction zone contains an acid resin catalyst which is preferably a macroreticular polystyrene sulfonic acid resin catalyst. In a preferred embodiment the second reaction zone contains a catalytic distillation column containing polystyrenesulfonic acid resin catalyst in a plurality of fixed bed catalysis-distillation units located in the upper half of the distillation column. The reaction section column is preferably operated at a temperature of about 10 to 30 o C lower than the temperature of the first reaction zone. In an alternate embodiment, the second reaction zone is not a catalytic distillation column, but rather a single reactor or plurality of reactors. Reactor configuration can take many forms, for example, fixed bed, stirred slurry (cf US-A-3,940,450), swing or ebullated bed. Any desired reactor configuration for sequencing acceptable to the skilled engineer may be employed; for instance, an acid resin catalyst may be employed following a regenerable etherification catalyst. In a preferred embodiment, the resin catalyst is "Amberlyst 15". The invention may from one aspect be regarded as adding to the conventional process the preliminary step of contacting olefin and alcohol reactants in the liquid phase with oxidatively regenerable solid acid catalyst particles under partial etherification conditions, to produce an intermediate stream comprising tert-alkyl ether and unreacted olefin and alcohol, this intermediate stream being substantially free from impurities which reduce catalyst activity and being passed forward for conventional processing. Although the preferred alcohol is methanol, suitable alternatives include ethanol or isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol) for the obtaining of different ether products. It is within the scope of the present process to employ a mixture of lower molecular weight alcohols. Although isobutene is the preferred hydrocarbon feed, other iso-olefins such as 3-methyl-2-butene can be etherified in the present process. Novel apparatus for carrying out the process of the invention comprises a first reaction zone comprising an inlet means for receiving a mixed feedstock comprising olefins and alcohols, a reactor system containing solid acid medium-pore zeolite catalyst particles, and an outlet means for withdrawing intermediate product comprising ethers and unreacted feedstock. Said apparatus further comprises a secondary reaction zone comprising an inlet means for receiving withdrawn intermediate product, a catalytic distillation column containing solid acid resin etherification catalyst in a plurality of fixed bed catalysis distillation zones, and an outlet means for withdrawing a final etherification product. Also included in the apparatus is a means for transferring intermediate product from the first reaction zone to the second reaction zone. Referring to the Figure, a pre-washed C₄ hydrocarbon feedstock which can contain impurities is combined as by line 1 with a lower molecular weight alcohol feed which passes through line 3. The combined stream enters reaction zone 2 as by line 12. A regenerable solid metal oxide acid catalyst such as ZSM-5 is contained in reaction zone 2. The mixed alcoholic C₄ hydrocarbon feedstream contacts the solid catalyst within the reaction zone 2 at predetermined reaction zone conditions of temperature and pressure to convert at least a portion of the feedstream to MTBE. Impurities present within the feedstock are effectively removed from the partially converted feedstream by the solid acid catalyst. A first intermediate stream containing MTBE and unreacted C₄ hydrocarbons and alcohol is cooled before entering reaction zone 4 as by line 5. Reaction zone 4 contains a solid regenerable metal oxide acid catalyst such as ZSM-5. The first intermediate stream contacts solid catalyst under etherification conditions to obtain MTBE. Any impurities contained in the first intermediate stream are adsorbed by the solid catalyst. Regeneration of the solid acid catalyst in both reaction zones 2 and 4 is accomplished by procedures well-known in the art. A series of swing reactors can be employed, whereby the reactor containing contaminated deactivated catalyst can be easily removed from the process and replaced immediately with a reactor containing active catalyst. Reaction zones 2 and 4 can be serially arranged catalytic fixed bed reactors or combined into a single moving bed, slurry or ebullated bed reaction zone. The catalytic material, preferably ZSM-5, can be regenerated by contact with oxygen or an oxygen-containing gas at elevated temperatures. A second intermediate stream containing MTBE and unreacted C₄ hydrocarbons and alcohol is withdrawn from reaction zone 4 and enters catalytic distillation column 6 as by line 7. In a preferred embodiment, the temperature of second intermediate stream is reduced prior to entering the distillation column. In distillation column 6 a substantial portion of unreacted C₄ hydrocarbons and alcohols are converted to MTBE over a polystyrenesulfonic acid resin catalyst such as "Amberlyst 15". Etherification over resin catalyst is carried out preferably at a temperature of about 37 to 75 o C and a pressure of about 1.66 to 24.8 bar (10 to 350 psig). In a preferred embodiment acid resin catalyst is placed in the rectifying section of a debutanizer column used for stabilizing the ethers. A product stream comprising MTBE can be withdrawn from distillation column 6 by line 11. Unreacted light gases are removed as by line 9. To illustrate the common problem of catalyst poisoning when a polysulfonic acid resin catalyst is employed in the etherification process, MTBE resin catalyst unit is operated in a continuous fashion for a period of six months. Isobutene containing hydrocarbon feed is purified in a "Merox" unit and water-washed prior to entering the MTBE reactor. Conversion decreases from 93% to 52% during the six month period. Analysis identifies the contaminants on the resin catalyst. The major contaminants are nitrogen compounds, which are responsible for about 60% of the catalyst deactivation. The concentration of nitrogen on the deactivated resin catalyst is about 25x10³ ppm. Metals such as Al, Fe, Na and Mg account for about 10% of the deactivation. The source of such metals is mainly from the water wash tower. The concentration of the metals on the deactivated catalyst is about 15x10² ppm. The third type of contaminant is coke. Coke is formed on the resin catalyst due to the presence of such compounds as cyclopentadiene and isoprene in the hydrocarbon feedstock. Continuous monitoring of the feedstock is necessary to control particularly the diolefinic C₅ hydrocarbon content. One of the advantages of the present process is that coke formation occurs primarily on the zeolite catalyst. Oxidative regeneration or hydrogen stripping of zeolite catalyst can then effectively remove the coke and non-metallic contaminants from the etherification catalyst. It is also observed that acetone and nitrile compounds were major contaminants in the hydrocarbon feedstocks which have been water washed, For example, a feed sample may contain 190 ppm acetone, 3 ppm acetonitrile and 16 ppm propionitrile. An advantage of the present process is that the hydrocarbon feedstock does not have to be water washed.

Claims: A process for producing unsymmetrical tertiary alkyl ethers from an isoalkene-containing C₄+ hydrocarbon feedstock, comprising contacting said feedstock together with an aliphatic alcohol with an inorganic metal oxide catalyst under conditions to effect partial etherification of iosalkene, contacting the resulting mixture of ether, unreacted alcohol and unreacted alkene with an acid resin catalyst under such conditions as substantially to complete the etherification of isoalkene, and recovering a C₅+ tertiary alkyl ether product. A process according to claim 1 wherein the metal oxide catalyst is periodically regenerated to remove coke and feedstock impurities and to restore its catalytic activity. A process according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said mixture is contacted with the resin catalyst in a distillation column containing the resin catalyst in a plurality of fixed bed catalysis-distillation zones. A process according to any of claims 1 to 3 in which the feedstock and alcohol are contacted with the metal oxide catalyst in one of a plurality of fixed bed reactors each of which is operatively connected to swing between production and regeneration. A process according to any of claims 1 to 3 in which feedstock and alcohol are contacted with a fluidized bed of the metal oxide catalyst from which bed a portion of the catalyst may be withdrawn, regenerated, and returned to the bed. A process according to any of claims 1 to 3 in which feedstock and alcohol are contacted with catalyst in a slurry type reactor. A process according to any preceding claim wherein feedstock and alcohol are contacted with metal oxide catalyst in at least two successive reaction zones in which each succeeding zone is maintained at a temperature at least 5 o C lower than that of its predecessor. A process according to any of claims 3 to 7 wherein reaction is carried out in the distillation column at a temperature 10 to 30 o C lower than the temperature at which said partial etherification is effected. A process according to any preceding claim wherein the recovered ether product is further purified by fractionation. A process according to any of claims 2 to 9 wherein the metal oxide catalyst is regenerated by stripping with a stream of hydrogen at 371 to 538 o C. A process according to any preceding claim wherein the metal oxide catalyst comprises a medium pore zeolite. A process according to claim 11 wherein the zeolite has the structure of ZSM-5, ZSM-11, ZSM-50 or zeolite beta. A process according to any preceding claim wherein the resin is a polymeric sulphonic acid resin. A process according to claim 13 wherein the resin is a macroreticular polystyrenesulphonic acid resin. A process according to any preceding claim wherein there is effected, in the course of said partial etherification, the removal of butadiene, isoprene, cyclopentadiene and/or N, Al, Fe, Na and/or Mg-containing impurities from the reactants. A process according to any preceding claim wherein said feedstock consists predominantly of C4 hydrocarbons and contains isobutene. A process according to claim 16 wherein isobutene constitutes at least 10 wt% of said feedstock. A process according to any of claims 1 to 15 wherein the feedstock contains isoamylene. A process according to any preceding claim wherein the aliphatic alcohol is methanol, ethanol or isopropanol. A process according to any preceding claim wherein said partial etherification conditions include operation in the liquid phase.

Inventors: HARANDI MOHSEN MADIMI, OWEN HARTLEY NMN, HARANDI, MOHSEN MADIMI, OWEN, HARTLEY (NMN)
Applicants: MOBIL OIL CORP, MOBIL OIL CORPORATION
Application year: 1991
Main classification: C07C43
IPC codes: C07C41, B01D3, C10L1, C10G35