Fixed bed process for polymerizing liquid butenes

Claim 2

A continuous process for producing polybutenes comprising introducing a liquid feedstream containing at least isobutene into a tubular reactor containing therein at least one fixed bed comprising granular, unsupported Lewis acid catalyst at a reaction pressure and temperature suitable for polymerizing the isobutene into a product polybutene having a number-average molecular weight of greater than 250, and recovering the polybutene.

Claim 3

The process of claim 2 wherein the Lewis acid comprises aluminum trichloride.

Claim 4

The process of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the feedstream comprises a mixture of isobutene, 2-butene, and 1-butene.

Claim 5

The process of any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the feedstream additionally contains a non-aromatic diluent.

Claim 6

The process of any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the reaction temperature is from -10°C to 60°C, preferably from 0° to 20°C.

Claim 7

The process of any of claims 1 to 5 wherein the granular catalyst has a size of from 0.8 mm to 40 mm, preferably from 0.8 mm to 30 mm, most preferably from 0.8 mm to 20 mm.

Claim 8

The process of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the number-average molecular weight of the polymeric product is from 400 to 3000.

Claim 9

The process of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the weight-average molecular weight/number-average molecular weight ratio of the polymeric product is from 1.6 to 3.0, preferably 1.8 to 3.0.

Claim 10

The process of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein a cocatalyst of hydrogen chloride, water or alcohol is additionally introduced into the fixed catalyst bed.

Claim 11

A continuous process for producing polybutenes comprising the steps of: introducing a liquid feedstream containing normal butenes but no more than about 5% isobutene into a tubular reactor containing therein at least one fixed bed comprising a granular, unsupported Lewis acid catalyst at a reaction pressure and temperature suitable for polymerizing the n-butene into a product polybutene having a number-average molecular weight of greater than 250, and recovering the polybutene.

Claim 12

A continuous process for producing polybutenes comprising the steps of: introducing a liquid feedstream containing normal butenes but no more than about 5% isobutene into a tubular reactor containing therein at least one fixed bed comprising a granular, unsupported Lewis acid catalyst at a reaction pressure and temperature suitable for polymerizing the n-butene into a product polybutene having a number-average molecular weight of greater than 250, and recovering the polybutene.

Claim 13

The process of claim 10 characterized by one or more of the features of any of claims 2 to 9.

Claim 14

A continuous process for producing polybutenes comprising the steps of: (a) introducing a first liquid feedstream containing isobutene and n-butenes into a first tubular reactor containing therein at least one fixed bed comprising a first Lewis acid catalyst at a reaction pressure and temperature suitable for polymerizing the isobutene into a product polybutene having a number-average molecular weight of greater than 250; (b) separating the polybutene product to form a stream containing n-butene and no more than about 5% isobutene; (c) introducing the separated stream as a second liquid feedstream into a second tubular reactor containing at least one fixed bed containing a second granular, unsupported Lewis acid catalyst at a reaction pressure and temperature suitable for polymerizing the n-butenes into a product poly-n-butene; and (d) recovering the product poly-n-butene.

Claim 15

A continuous process for producing polybutenes comprising the steps of: (a) introducing a first liquid feedstream containing isobutene and n-butenes into a first tubular reactor containing therein at least one fixed bed comprising a first Lewis acid catalyst at a reaction pressure and temperature suitable for polymerizing the isobutene into a product polybutene having a number-average molecular weight of greater than 250; (b) separating the polybutene product to form a stream containing n-butene and no more than about 5% isobutene; (c) introducing the separated stream as a second liquid feedstream into a second tubular reactor containing at least one fixed bed containing a second granular, unsupported Lewis acid catalyst at a reaction pressure and temperature suitable for polymerizing the n-butenes into a product poly-n-butene; and (d) recovering the product poly-n-butene.

Claim 16

The process of claim 12 wherein each said Lewis acid comprises aluminum trichloride.

Claim 17

The process of claim 12 or claim 13 wherein the feedstream comprises a mixture of isobutene, 2-butene, and 1-butene.

Claim 18

The process of any of claims 12 to 14 wherein the feedstream additionally contains a non-aromatic diluent.

Claim 19

The process of any of claims 12 to 15 wherein both reaction temperatures are from -10° to 60°C, and preferably wherein the step (a) reaction temperature is from 0° to 20°C, and the step (b) reaction temperature is from 10° to 60°C.

Claim 20

The process of any of claims 12 to 16 wherein the granular catalyst has a size of from 0.8 to 40 mm, probably from 0.8 to 20 mm.

Claim 21

The process of any of claims 12 to 17 wherein a co-catalyst selected from HCI, water, alcohols or mixtures thereof is introduced into each said tubular reactor.

Claim 22

The process of claim 18 wherein the co-catalyst comprises anhydrous HCI in an amount of from 50 to 5000 ppm of each said liquid feedstream.