Patent ID: 7396967

Claim:
An process for producing xylenes from naphtha, which process comprises the steps of: (a) aromatizing naphtha in an aromatization zone under aromatization conditions and the presence of a first catalyst effective for the aromatization of the naphtha to produce a reformate containing hydrogen, C 1 -C 5 hydrocarbons, C 6 -C 7 hydrocarbons comprising benzene, toluene or mixtures thereof, and C 8+ hydrocarbons; (b) removing at least a portion of said hydrogen from said reformate to produce a first product having less hydrogen content than said reformate; (c) removing at least a portion of said C 1 -C 5 hydrocarbons from said first product in a C 1 -C 5 hydrocarbon separation zone to produce a second product having less C 1 -C 5 hydrocarbon content than said first product; (d) removing at least a portion of said C 8+ hydrocarbons from said second product in a C 8+ hydrocarbon separation zone to produce a third product having less C 8+ hydrocarbon content than said second product; (e) transferring at least a portion of said third product to a methylation reaction zone; and (f) methylating in said methylation reaction zone at least a portion of the benzene, toluene, or mixtures thereof present in said third product with a methylating agent under vapor phase conditions effective for the methylation and in the presence of a second catalyst effective for the methylation to produce a fourth product having a higher xylenes content than said reformate, wherein said second catalyst comprises a zeolite-bound-zeolite catalyst, a selectivated zeolite, ZSM-23, or a mixture thereof, and wherein said zeolite in said zeolite-bound-zeolite catalyst or said selectivated zeolite comprises ZSM-5.