Patent ID: 7141705

Claim:
A process for the co-production of ethers from the reaction of the isobutene and isoamylenes contained in a mixed C 4 /C 5 stream comprising the steps of: (a) feeding less than 90% of the stoichiometric amount of at least one C 1 –C 2 alcohol to react with said isobutene and isoamylenes in a mixture comprising C 5 hydrocarbons including pentanes, n-pentenes and isoamylenes and C 4 hydrocarbons including butanes, n-butenes and isobutene to a reaction mixture to a distillation column reactor, characterized in that the amount of alcohol is less than an azeotrope amount; (b) concurrently in said distillation column reactor (i) reacting a portion of the said isobutene and said isoamylenes with alcohol to form methyl tertiary butyl ether and tertiary amyl methyl ether in a reaction mixture containing methyl tertiary butyl ether, tertiary amyl methyl ether and reacting a portion of said isobutene and isoamylenes to form dimers thereof and (ii) separating said methyl tertiary butyl ether and said tertiary amyl methyl ether and dimers contained in said reaction mixture from said unreacted C 4 's, unreacted C 5 's contained in said second reaction mixture by fractional distillation; (c) removing said unreacted C 4 's and C 5 's from said distillation column reactor as overheads wherein said overheads are substantially free of alcohol; and (d) removing said methyl tertiary butyl ether and said tertiary amyl methyl ether and dimers from said distillation column as bottoms.