Process for the preparation of an aromatic hydrocarbon mixture using iron crystalline silicates

Claim 1

A process for the preparation of an aromatic hydrocarbon mixture from a mixture of aliphatic compounds which comprises contacting in a reaction zone as feed, a mixture of aliphatic oxygen-containing hydrocarbons having the general formula C n H m O p , which mixture consists of a predominant molar amount of one or more compounds selected from monovalent alcohols, ethers, ketones, and aldehydes with at least three carbon atoms in the molecule for which m-2p/n is greater than 1 and the rest of the feed comprises a minor molar amount of one or more compounds selected from carboxylic acids, polyvalent alcohols, carbohydrates, carboxylic anhydrides, and aldehydes with less than three carbon atoms in the molecule for which m-2p/n is at most 1 at an elevated temperature of from 250° to 650° C., with an aromatization catalyst comprising a crystalline silicate, which (a) is thermally stable to temperatures above 600° C., (b) after dehydration at 400° C. in vacuum, is capable of adsorbing more than 3%w water at 25° C. and saturated water vapour pressure, and (c) in dehydrated form, has the following overall composition expressed in moles of the oxides: (1.0±0.3)(R).sub.2/n O.[a Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3.b.Al.sub.2 O.sub.3.c Ga.sub.2 O.sub.3 ]. y(d SiO.sub.2.e GeO.sub.2), where: R=one or more mono or bivalent cations, a≧0.5 b≧0, c≧0, a+b+c=1, y≧10, d≧0.1, e≧0, d+e=1, n=the valency of R, and withdrawing a hydrocarbon product from said reaction zone which product can be separated into a mixture of aliphatic hydrocarbons with one to four carbon atoms in the molecule and a hydrocarbon mixture of five or more carbon atoms in the molecule containing aromatic hydrocarbons.