Patent ID: 7888541

Claim:
A process for the preferential conversion to 2-butene of a C4 stream containing 1-butene and 2-butene, comprising: mixing said C4 stream with a first hydrogen stream to form a feed stream, hydroisomerizing said feed stream in the presence of a first hydroisomerization catalyst in order to convert at least a portion of said 1-butene to 2-butene and to produce a hydroisomerization effluent, separating said hydroisomerization effluent in a catalytic distillation column having an upper end and a lower end to obtain a 1-butene mixture at said upper end, a top effluent stream comprising isobutane and isobutylene and a bottoms stream comprising 2-butene, and hydroisomerizing said 1-butene mixture at said upper end of said catalytic distillation column using a second hydroisomerization catalyst to obtain additional 2-butene in said bottoms stream, wherein said second hydroisomerization catalyst is in the form of catalytic distillation structure for concurrent reaction and separation and is located within said upper end as a single reaction stage proximate an elevation of maximum 1-butene concentration determined as if said step of hydroisomerizing using second hydroisomerization catalyst were eliminated.