The present disclosure relates to a process for converting one or more alkyl halides to acyclic C3-C6 olefins, said process comprising the steps of (a) providing a feedstream comprising one or more alkyl halides; (b) providing a catalyst composition; and (c) contacting said feedstream with said catalyst composition under reaction conditions. The process is remarkable in that said process further comprises a step of steaming said catalyst composition before the step (c) and in that said catalyst composition comprises one or more zeolites and a binder, wherein said one or more zeolites comprise at least one 10-membered ring channel. The present disclosure further relates to the use of a catalyst composition in said process, said catalyst composition comprising one or more zeolites and a binder, wherein said catalyst composition is steamed before use.

The present invention relates to a process for the dehydration of at least one oxygenated compound, preferably selected from saturated alcohols, unsaturated alcohols, diols, ethers, in the presence of at least one dehydration catalyst selected from cerium oxide (CeO.sub.2), aluminium oxide (γ-Al.sub.2O.sub.3), aluminium silicate, silica-aluminas (SiO.sub.2-Al.sub.2O.sub.3), aluminas, zeolites, sulfonated resins, ion-exchange resins, metal oxides (for example, lanthanum oxide, zirconium oxide, tungsten oxide, thallium oxide, magnesium oxide, zinc oxide); of at least one basic agent selected from ammonia (NH.sub.3), or from inorganic or organic compounds containing nitrogen capable of developing ammonia (NH.sub.3) during said dehydration process; and, optionally, of silica (SiO.sub.2), or of at least one catalyst for the dissociation of ammonia (NH.sub.3) selected from catalysts comprising silica (SiO.sub.2), preferably of silica (SiO.sub.2).

The present invention relates to a process for producing ethene by the vapour phase dehydration of ethanol using a supported heteropolyacid catalyst. In particular, the present invention involves the use of a supported heteropolyacid catalyst, wherein the supported heteropolyacid catalyst is: i) a mixed oxide support comprising silica and a transition metal oxide, wherein silica is present in an amount of at least 50 wt. %, based on the weight of the mixed oxide support; or ii) a mixed oxide support comprising zirconia and a different transition metal oxide, wherein zirconia is present in an amount of at least 50 wt. %, based on the weight of the mixed oxide support. When used in a process for the preparation of ethene by vapour phase dehydration, and after attaining steady-state performance of the catalyst, the process may be operated continuously with the same supported heteropolyacid catalyst for at least 150 hours without any regeneration of the catalyst.

The invention is concerned with the production of 1-hexene and octenes from ethene. 1-Butene is optionally also to be produced. The problem addressed by the present invention is that of developing a process for producing 1-hexene from ethene by MTHxE etherification to achieve better chemical utilization of the employed carbon atoms. This problem is solved by catalytic retrocleavage of MTHxE into the C.sub.6 olefins and the alcohol, reuse of the alcohol in the etherification and reaction of the obtained C.sub.6 olefins with ethene to afford C.sub.8 olefins. In this way the alcohol is not lost from the process but rather is internally recirculated as a derivatizing agent. The less attractive C.sub.6 olefins from the cleavage product are upgraded to octene with further ethene in order to provide a further commercial product.

Steam cracking of ethane, a non-catalytic thermochemical process, remains the dominant means of ethylene production. The severe reaction conditions and energy expenditure involved in this process incentivize the search for alternative reaction pathways and reactor designs which maximize ethylene yield while minimizing cost and energy input. According to the present invention, ethylene yields as high as 68% were obtained with a quartz open tube reactor without the use of a catalyst or a cofed stream of oxidizing agents. The open tube reactor design promotes simplicity, low cost, and negligible coke formation. Reactor designs can be optimized to improve the conversion of ethane to ethylene via non-oxidative dehydrogenation, an approach which shows promise for decentralized production of ethylene from natural gas deposits.

Systems and processes herein improve the conversion of propylene to ethylene via metathesis. On a mass basis, embodiments herein may be used to convert greater than 40% propylene, on a mass basis, to ethylene, such as 43% to 75%, on a mass basis. In one aspect, processes for the conversion of propylene to ethylene herein may include introducing a propylene feed stream to a metathesis reactor, and contacting the propylene with a metathesis catalyst in the metathesis reactor to convert the propylene to ethylene and 2-butene. An effluent from the metathesis reactor may be recovered, the effluent including ethylene, 2-butene, and unconverted propylene. The effluent may then be separated in a fractionation system to recover an ethylene fraction, a propylene fraction, a c4 fraction, and a C5+ fraction. The propylene fraction and the C4 fraction may then be fed to the metathesis reactor to produce additional ethylene.

Catalyst compositions to perform selective alkyl-demethylation of C2+-hydrocarbyl-substituted aromatic hydrocarbon may exhibit a hydrogen chemisorption of at least 15% and comprise an oxide support material selected from the group consisting of an alkaline earth metal oxide, silica, a composite of an alkaline earth metal oxide and Al.sub.2O.sub.3, a composite of ZnO and Al.sub.2O.sub.3, a lanthanide oxide, a composite of a lanthanide oxide and Al.sub.2O.sub.3, and combinations and mixtures of two or more thereof; and a transition metal element dispersed upon the oxide support material. Alkyl-demethylation processes of a C6+ aromatic hydrocarbon-containing stream comprising C2+-hydrocarbyl-substituted aromatic hydrocarbons may comprise contacting the catalyst compositions in an alkyl-demethylation zone under alkyl-demethylation conditions to form an alkyl-demethylated aromatic hydrocarbon as an effluent exiting the alkyl-demethylation zone.

A catalyst composition for converting an alcohol to olefins, the catalyst composition comprising the following components: (a) a support (e.g., particles) comprising silicon and oxygen; (b) at least one of copper and silver residing on and/or incorporated into said support; and (c) at least one lanthanide element residing on and/or incorporated into said support. The catalyst may also further include component (d), which is zinc. Also described herein is a method for converting an alcohol to one or more olefinic compounds (an olefin fraction) by contacting the alcohol with a catalyst at a temperature of at least 100° C. and up to 500° C. to result in direct conversion of the alcohol to an olefin fraction containing one or more olefinic compounds containing at least three carbon atoms; wherein ethylene and propylene are produced in a minor proportion of the olefin fraction, and butenes and higher olefins are produced in major proportion.

Ethylene oligomerization catalysts include a solid support having surface hydroxyl groups on a surface of the solid support. Functional groups attached to the solid support through at least one covalent bond and coordinated with at least one catalytically active transition metal. Individual functional groups are attached to the solid support as products of condensation reactions of at least one hydrolysable group of precursor ligands with a corresponding surface group of the solid support. The precursor ligands have a general formula (Ph.sub.2P).sub.2N—R.sup.1-A, where R.sup.1 is C.sub.1-C.sub.40 hydrocarbylene or C.sub.1-C.sub.40 heterohydrocarbylene; and A is a hydrolysable group selected from trialkoxysilyl, halosilyl, carboxylates, esters, phosphonates, amines, imines, thiols, thiocarboxylates, or halides.

Systems for preparing butenes are provided. The systems can include a reactor inlet coupled to both a reactor and at least one reactant reservoir; at least one of the reactant reservoirs containing one or both of an aldehyde and/or ethanol; a catalyst within the reactor, the catalyst comprising a metal component and an acidic support material; and a reactor outlet operationally configured to convey a butene-rich reaction product to a product reservoir. Methods for preparing butenes are also provided. The methods can include exposing one or both of ethanol and/or an aldehyde to a catalyst comprising a metal component and an acidic support to form a butene-rich product that comprises one or both of 1-butene and/or 2-butene.