Patent ID: 8193398

Claim:
A process of preparing n-propyl bromide in the form of a crude reaction mixture containing at least 95 GC area % n-propyl bromide, which process comprises feeding (A) a molecular oxygen-containing gas, (B) propene as a gas and (C) hydrogen bromide as a gas, either sequentially or concurrently into a liquid phase mixture containing at least n-propyl bromide and hydrogen bromide wherein the hydrogen bromide in the liquid phase mixture initially is present in an amount in the range of 1.1 wt. % to 1.5 wt. % based on the weight of the liquid phase mixture, wherein at least the molecular oxygen-containing gas of (A) and the propene gas of (B) are fed subsurface to the liquid phase mixture, with the provisos that: i) the molecular oxygen-containing gas and the propene come together in the absence of hydrogen bromide only in a propene:oxygen molar ratio in the range of 145:1 to 180:1, and ii) the process is conducted in reaction equipment having contacting surfaces essentially devoid of reaction inhibitors, and wherein HBr is maintained at a stoichiometric excess, when measured at atmospheric pressure, relative to propene present in the liquid phase mixture during the process.