Patent ID: 7291761

Claim:
A process for the continuous heterogeneously catalyzed partial dehydrogenation of at least one hydrocarbon to be dehydrogenated in the gas phase, in which a reaction gas comprising at least one hydrocarbon to be dehydrogenated is fed continuously to a reaction zone, the reaction gas in the reaction zone is conveyed over at least one fixed catalyst bed over which molecular hydrogen and at least one dehydrogenated hydrocarbon are formed by catalytic (partial) dehydrogenation, at least one gas comprising molecular oxygen is added to the reaction gas before and/or after entry into the reaction zone, the molecular oxygen in the reaction zone oxidizes part of the molecular hydrogen present in the reaction gas to water vapor, and a product gas comprising molecular hydrogen, water vapor, the dehydrogenated hydrocarbon or hydrocarbons and the hydrocarbon or hydrocarbons to be dehydrogenated is taken from the reaction zone, wherein the product gas taken from the reaction zone is divided into two substreams of identical composition and one of the two substreams is recirculated as circulated gas to the reaction zone.