Patent ID: 6919016

Claim:
A process for the utilization of refinery C 4 streams in the production of gasoline comprising the steps of: (a) feeding hydrogen and a mixed C 4 stream containing normal butane, isobutane, 1-butene, 2-butene, isobutene, dienes, mercaptans and C 5 's to a first distillation column reactor containing a bed of thioetherification/hydrogenation catalyst; (b) concurrently in said first distillation column reactor, (i) reacting the mercaptans and a portion of the dienes in the presence of said thioetherification/ hydrogenation catalyst to produce sulfides, (ii) reacting at least a portion of said dienes with said hydrogen to form mono olefins including additional butenes, and (iii) separating said sulfides and said C 5 's from said normal butane, isobutane, 1-butene, 2-butene and isobutene by fractional distillation; (c) removing said C 5 's and said sulfides from said first distillation column reactor as a first bottoms; (d) removing said normal butane, isobutane, 1-butene, 2-butene and isobutene from said first distillation column reactor as a first overheads; (e) feeding said first overheads containing said normal butane, isobutane, 1-butene, 2-butene and isobutene to a second distillation column reactor containing an bed of isomerization catalyst; (f) concurrently in said second distillation column reactor, (i) isomerizing a portion of the 1-butene to 2-butene, and (ii) separating the 2-butene and the normal butane from the isobutane, isobutene and unreacted 1-butene; (g) removing the 2-butene from said second distillation column reactor as a second bottoms; (h) removing the isobutane, unreacted 1-butene and isobutene from said second distillation column reactor as a second overheads; (i) feeding said hydrogen and second overheads containing said normal butane, isobutane, isobutene and 1-butene to a third distillation column reactor containing a bed of hydrogenation catalyst to concurrently; (i) hydrogenate a portion of the 1-butene and isobutene to form a reaction product comprising butane and isobutane and (ii) fractionate the reaction product to produce a third overheads; and (j) removing the normal butane, isobutane, 1-butene an isobutene from said third distillation column reactor as a third bottoms.