Patent ID: 7994366

Claim:
A process for continuously preparing methyl mercaptan, comprising: (I) reacting a reactant mixture comprising at least one carbon- and hydrogen-containing compound, air or oxygen, and optionally, water, to produce a gas mixture comprising carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H 2 ) at least one gas obtained from at least one offgas stream streams of a process for oxidation of at least one hydrocarbon and/or for synthesis of at least one nitrogen- and/or sulfur-containing compound, and, optionally, hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S); (II) thermally reacting said gas mixture with liquid sulfur and/or gaseous sulfur in a single-stage or multistage reaction at a temperature of at least 200° C. and at a pressure of at least 5 bar to produce a gaseous mixture comprising CO 2 , CO, H 2 , and H 2 S, wherein a molar ratio of CO 2 /CO/H 2 /H 2 S is adjusted during said thermally reacting to range from 1:0.1:1:0 to 1:1:10:10 by feeding in water or hydrogen and optionally hydrogen sulfide, to obtain said gaseous mixture having a molar ratio of CO 2 /CO/H 2 /H 2 S ranging from 1:0.1:1:1 to 1:1:10:10; (III) catalytically converting said gaseous mixture at a temperature of at least 200° C., at a pressure of at least 5 bar, and over a catalyst, to produce a reaction mixture comprising methyl mercaptan; (IV) removing said methyl mercaptan from said reaction mixture to produce a return gas; and (V) optionally, recycling said return gas comprising unconverted CO 2 , CO, H 2 and H 2 S into the process after removing gaseous byproducts and, optionally, reacting with water, wherein said gas mixture is directly fed from said reacting (I) to said thermally reacting (II) at a pressure of at least 5 bar, without further compression, said gaseous mixture is directly fed from said thermally reacting (II) to said catalytically converting (III) at a pressure of at least 5 bar, and said reaction mixture is directly fed from said catalytically converting (III) to said removing (IV) at a pressure of at least 5 bar.