Long Chain Alcohol

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016347696-A1
Application number	US-201615146468-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	May 4, 2016
Priority date	May 28, 2015
Publication date	Dec 1, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

The invention relates to long chain alcohol, to processes for catalytically producing long chain alcohol from carbon monoxide and molecular hydrogen, to equipment useful in such processes, and to the use of long chain alcohol, e.g., for producing fuel, lubricating oil, detergent, and plasticizer. The catalyst is mesoporous and comprises iron and copper.

First claim

1 . A process for producing long chain alcohol, comprising:
(a) providing a feed mixture comprising molecular hydrogen and ≧0.01 wt. % of carbon monoxide, the feed mixture having a molecular hydrogen to carbon monoxide molar ratio in the range of from 0.01 to 100; (b) providing at least one multi-metallic, mesoporous catalyst comprising copper, ≧0.5 wt. % of iron, ≦1.0 wt. % of CuO and ≦1.0 wt. % of Fe 3 O 4 , the catalyst having
(i) an iron to copper molar ratio in the range of from 0.1 to 10,
(ii) a plurality of pores having an average pore size in the range of from 2 nm to 50 nm; and
(iii) an average surface area ≧50 m 2 /g;
(c) reacting at least a portion of the feed mixture's carbon monoxide and at least a portion of the feed mixture's molecular hydrogen in the presence of the catalyst to produce a reaction effluent comprising long chain alcohol, the reaction conditions including a reaction temperature ≧150° C., a total pressure ≧100 psig, and a space velocity (GHSV) ≧50 hr −1 ; and (d) recovering at least a portion of the reaction effluent's long chain alcohol.

2 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the feed mixture comprises 5 wt. % to 95 wt. % of carbon monoxide has a molecular hydrogen:carbon monoxide molar ratio in the range of from 0.25 to 4.

3 . The process of claim 1 , wherein (i) the catalyst comprises 1.0 wt. % to 50.0 wt. % copper and 1.0 wt. % to 50.0 wt. % iron, (ii) the catalyst is substantially free of any oxide of copper, and (iii) the catalyst is substantially free of any oxide of iron.

4 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the iron to copper molar ratio is in the range of from 0. 25 to 4.

5 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the average pore size is in the range of from 4 nm to 25 nm.

6 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the average surface area is in the range of from 50 m 2 /g to 350 m 2 /g.

7 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the average surface area is in the range of from 60 m 2 /g to 250 m 2 /g.

8 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the reaction temperature is in the range of from 150° C. to 250° C., the total pressure is in the range of from 0.7 MPa to 5 Mpa, and the space velocity (GHSV) is in the range of from 100 hr −1 to 10,000 hr −1 .

9 . The process of claim 1 , wherein (i) the process includes a feed carbon monoxide conversion >45% (weight basis) and a 1-alcohol selectivity >40% (weight basis), and (iii) the reaction effluent's long chain alcohol has an α>0.8.

10 . Recovered long chain alcohol produced by the process of claim 1 .

11 . A multi-metallic mesoporous composition, comprising:
(a) copper, (b) ≧0.5 wt. % of iron, (c) ≦1.0 wt. % of CuO and (d) ≦1.0 wt. % of Fe 3 O 4 , the catalyst having
(i) an iron to copper molar ratio in the range of from 0.1 to 10,
(ii) a plurality of pores having an average pore size in the range of from 2 nm to 50 nm, and
(iii) an average surface area ≧50 m 2 /g.

12 . The multi-metallic mesoporous composition of claim 11 , comprising 1.0 wt. % to 50.0 wt. % copper.

13 . The multi-metallic mesoporous composition of claim 11 , comprising 1.0 wt. % to 50.0 wt. % iron.

14 . The multi-metallic mesoporous composition of claim 11 , wherein the multi-metallic mesoporous composition is substantially free of any oxide of copper, and the multi-metallic mesoporous composition are substantially free of any oxide of iron.

15 . The multi-metallic mesoporous composition of claim 11 , wherein the iron to copper molar ratio is in the range of from 0.25 to 4.

16 . The multi-metallic mesoporous composition of claim 11 , wherein the average pore size is in the range of from 4 nm to 25 nm.

17 . The multi-metallic mesoporous composition of claim 11 , wherein the average surface area is in the range of from 50 m 2 /g to 350 m 2 /g.

18 . The multi-metallic mesoporous composition of claim 11 , wherein the average surface area is in the range of from 50 m 2 /g to 350 m 2 /g.

19 . The multi-metallic mesoporous composition of claim 11 , wherein the average surface area is in the range of from 60 m 2 /g to 250 m 2 /g.

20 . The multi-metallic mesoporous composition of claim 11 , wherein multi-metallic mesoporous composition has a structure derived from one or more of MCM-41, MCM-48, SBA-15, KIT-6-100, and KIT-6-40.

21 . An apparatus for producing long chain alcohol, the apparatus comprising:
(a) at least one reactor vessel, the reactor vessel having an internal volume which includes an upstream region and a downstream region; (b) at least one feed conduit in fluidic communication with a syngas source located upstream of the reactor vessel and the reactor vessel's interior volume, the feed conduit being configured to establish a flow of syngas from the syngas source to the upstream region of the reaction vessel's interior volume; (c) a reaction zone located between the upstream and downstream regions of the reactor vessel's interior volume, the reaction zone being configured to receive the syngas flow from the upstream region of the reactor's interior volume and to discharge a reaction effluent flow comprising the long chain alcohol into the downstream region of the reaction vessel's interior volume; (d) at least one bed of an ordered multi-metallic, mesoporous catalyst located in the reaction zone, wherein (i) the long chain alcohol is produced by a reaction of syngas in the syngas flow in the presence of the catalyst and (ii) the catalyst comprises copper, ≧0.5 wt. % of iron, ≦1.0 wt. % of CuO and ≦1.0 wt. % of Fe 3 O 4 , the catalyst having an iron to copper molar ratio in the range of from 0.1 to 10, a plurality of pores having an average pore size in the range of from 2 nm to 50 nm, and an average surface area ≧50 m 2 /g; and (e) at least one product conduit in fluidic communication with the downstream region of the reactor vessel's interior volume and a recovery stage located downstream of the reactor vessel, the product conduit being configured to conduct the reaction effluent flow from the downstream region of the reactor vessel's interior volume to the recovery stage, the recovery stage being configured to recover at least a portion of the long chain alcohol.

22 . The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the catalyst has an average pore size in the range of from 4 nm to 25 nm, and an average surface area in the range of 50 m 2 /g to 350 m 2 /g.

23 . The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the catalyst has an average surface area in the range of 60 m 2 /g to 350 m 2 /g.

24 . A reaction effluent comprising long chain alcohol having an α>0.74.

25 . The reaction effluent of claim 24 , wherein the long chain alcohol has an α≧0.8.

Assignees

• Exxonmobil Chemical Patents Inc

Inventors

• Kandel Kapil
• Keusenkothen Paul F
• Abichandani Jeevan S

Classifications

• C07C31/125 Primary

  containing five to twenty-two carbon atoms · CPC title

• B01J35/1019

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B01J23/745

  Iron · CPC title

• B01J35/1061

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• C07C29/156

  containing iron group metals, platinum group metals or compounds thereof · CPC title