Patent ID: 8530709

Claim:
A process for the manufacture of 1,1,1,4,4,4-hexafluoro-2-butene comprising the steps of: (a) contacting a haloalkane compound with hexafluoropropene at a temperature effective to facilitate an addition reaction to form an intermediate hydrofluorochlorobutane; (b) contacting HF with the intermediate hydrofluorochlorobutane formed in step (a) under conditions effective to facilitate the fluorination of the butane compound and produce an effluent stream comprising a compound selected from the group consisting of a hydrofluorobutane, a hydrofluorobutene, and mixtures thereof; (c) contacting the reaction product of step (b) with a metal catalyst and hydrogen under conditions effective to dehydrohalogenate the reaction product of step (b) to form a compound selected from the group consisting of a hydrofluorobutene, a fluorobutyne, and mixtures thereof; (d) recycling the reaction products of step (c) through the hydrogenation process to convert the hydrofluorobutene into hexafluorobutyne; and (e) selectively reducing the hexafluorobutyne to produce the cis-1,1,1,4,4,4-hexafluoro-2-butene.