Patent ID: 7135603

Claim:
A process for the production of an olefin from a hydrocarbon, said process comprising passing a mixture of said hydrocarbon and an oxygen-containing gas through a catalyst zone to produce said olefin, said catalyst zone comprising at least a first catalyst bed and a second catalyst bed, wherein the first catalyst bed comprises a catalyst which is capable of supporting combustion beyond the fuel rich limit of flammability, wherein the second catalyst bed is located downstream of the first catalyst bed, is of a different composition to the first catalyst bed and comprises at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Mo, W, and Groups IB, IIB, IIIB, IVB, VB, VIIB and VIII of the Periodic Table, and wherein the second catalyst bed comprises either: (i) a catalyst which is substantially incapable of supporting combustion beyond the fuel rich limit of flammability and which is a dehydrogenation catalyst, or (ii) a catalyst which is a promoted Group VIII metal catalyst, and wherein the molar ratio of said hydrocarbon to the oxygen-containing gas is 5 to 16 times the stoichiometric ratio of hydrocarbon to oxygen-containing gas required for complete combustion to carbon dioxide and water.