Purification of butylene oxides by extractive distillation with selected extractive distillation solvents

• US 4,402,794 A
• Filed: 05/24/1982
• Issued: 09/06/1983
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/1982
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ARCO Chemical Technology LP A Partnership of de
• Original Assignee: Atlantic Richfield Company Incorporated (BP PLC)
• Inventors: Nemet-Mavrodin, Margaret I., Bobeck, Richard L., Shangkuan, Yon-Li
• Primary Examiner(s): Bascomb, Jr., Wilbur L.
• Application Number:
  US06/381,121
• Time in Patent Office: 470 Days
• Field of Search: 203/14, 203/70, 203/68, 203/69, 203/52, 203/84, 203/39, 549/529, 549/541
• US Class Current: 203/14
• CPC Class Codes: C07D 301/32 Separation; Purification

Abstract

A process for purifying 1,2-butylene oxide which comprises extractive distillation of crude butylene oxide with an added solvent comprising an acyclic, paraffinic hydrocarbon having from 7 to 9 carbon atoms.

Claims

1. A process for removing water from crude butylene oxides which process comprises extractively distilling a water-containing, crude butylene oxide stream with an added extractive distillation solvent consisting essentially of acyclic, paraffinic hydrocarbons having from 7 to 9 carbon atoms to remove water as distillate and in recovering a bottoms liquid stream comprising butylene oxide and solvent.

2. The method claim 1 wherein said extractive solvent consists essentially of a straight chain hydrocarbon.

3. The process of claim 2 wherein said distillation solvent consists essentially of n-octane.

4. The processes of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the solvent:

butylene oxide molar ratio is within the range from about 2 to 15;

1.

5. The processes of claim 4 wherein the said molar ratio is within the range from about 5 to 7:

1.

6. A process for purifying crude, 1,2-butylene oxide formed by liquid-phase epoxidation of 1-butene with an organic hydroperoxide in the presence of a suitable catalyst and removal of catalyst entrained from the epoxidation zone, unreacted 1-butene and the alcohol corresponding to the organic hydroperoxide, said crude 1,2-butylene oxide containing impurities comprising water, acetone, methanol, ethyl acetate, methyl ethyl ketone and isomers of 1,2-butylene oxide, which process comprises:

(a) extractively distilling the crude 1,2-butylene oxide with an extractive distillation solvent essentially of acyclic paraffinic hydrocarbons having from 7 to 9 carbon atoms to remove impurities comprising water, methanol and acetone as a first distillate stream and recovering a first bottoms stream comprising 1,2-butylene oxide and solvent;

(b) fractionally distilling the first bottoms stream to recover a second bottoms stream comprising solvent and a distillate stream comprising 1,2-butylene oxide;

(c) recycling the second bottoms stream comprising solvent to step (a);

(d) fractionally distilling the distillate stream from step (b) to recover a bottoms stream comprising 1,2-butylene oxide and a distillate stream comprising isomers of 1,2-butylene oxide;

(e) fractionally distilling the bottoms stream of step (d) to recover a bottoms stream comprising methyl ethyl ketone and ethyl acetate and a distillate 1,2-butylene oxide product.

7. The method of claim 6 comprising the further steps:

(a) condensing the first distillate stream comprising water, methanol and acetone;

(b) decanting the condensed distillate to recover an aqueous phase and an solvent phase;

(c) purging the recovered aqueous phase;

(d) fractionally distilling the recovered solvent phase to remove impurities comprising methanol and acetone as distillate from a bottoms stream comprising solvent; and

(e) combining the bottoms stream comprising solvent with the first bottoms stream.

8. The process of claim 6 wherein the molar ratio of extractive distillation solvent to 1,2-butylene oxide in the crude stream is within the range from about 2-15:

1.

9. The process of claim 8 wherein the said molar ratio is within the range from about 3-10:

1.

10. The process of claim 9 wherein the said molar ratio is within the range from about 5-7:

1.

11. The methods of claim 6 or 10 wherein said extractive distillation solvent consists essentially of a straight chain hydrocarbon having from 7 to 9 carbon atoms.

12. The method of claim 6 wherein the crude 1,2-butylene oxide is formed by liquid phase epoxidation of 1-butene with tertiary butyl hydroperoxide in the presence of a suitable catalyst.