Patent ID: 7544818

Claim:
A process for the continuous recirculation of the propene which has not been reacted in the oxidation of propene by means of hydroperoxide to give propene oxide, said propene is a mixture comprising propene and propane in a volume ratio of from about 97:3 to 95:5 and is present in the offgas stream formed during the oxidation, which comprises the steps of (i) to (iii): (i) separating the propene and propane from the offgas stream by absorption in a hydrocarbon mixture, (ii) desorbing the propene and propane from the hydrocarbon mixture, wherein the mixture of propene and propane is separated off either in liquid form in a distillation column at a pressure of from 1 to 3 bar or in gaseous form at a pressure of from 1 to 3 bar and a temperature of from 50 to 100° C. in a flash evaporation, (iii) recirculating the propene obtained in step (ii) to the oxidation process, wherein the propene/propane mixture obtained after separation from the hydrocarbon mixture is separated into propene and propane in a C 3 splitter before recirculating the propene to the oxidation process, and the hydrocarbon mixture is a mixture of long chain hydrocarbons of the formula: C n H 2n+2 wherein n is an integer of from 13 to 15, and the mixture comprises a tetradecane of the formula C 14 H 30 in an amount of at least 10% by weight.