Patent ID: 7211702

Claim:
A process for reducing the water content of a starting feed stream comprising an azeotropic mixture of a first alcohol and water, comprising: (a) effecting a hydration reaction of the water content of the feed stream with an olefin, wherein the olefin is hydrated to a corresponding second alcohol, the second alcohol being selected from the group consisting of the same alcohol as the first alcohol, an alcohol readily separable from the first alcohol by a distillation procedure, and an alcohol forming a useful mixture when mixed with the first alcohol, the hydration reaction of the olefin being conducted in the presence of a solid phase olefin hydration catalyst, the temperature and the pressure of the hydration reaction being selected so that the olefin is largely in the vapour phase and the first alcohol and the second alcohol are each largely in a liquid phase, the olefin being in a molar excess when compared with the water content of the feed stream, and (b) continuously removing the first alcohol and the second alcohol as a substantially anhydrous liquid mixture.