Process for the Dimerization/Oligomerization of Mixed Butenes Over an Ion-Exchange Resin Catalyst

Abstract

Processes for the effective dimerization and oligomerization of a mixed butenes feed using an ion exchange resin based catalyst are provided. The dimerization and oligomerization processes produce highly branched C8 and C8+ olefins (e.g., C12, C16 and C20 olefins) which could be used as superior fuel blending component for higher energy contents, higher octane value, higher octane sensitivity and lower RVP.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A process for dimerizing and oligomerizing a mixed olefins feed comprising mixed olefins to produce mixed higher olefins, said process comprising the steps of:
 introducing the mixed olefins feed into a reactor vessel under oligomerization conditions;   contacting the mixed olefins feed with an ion-exchange resin based catalyst within the reactor to convert the mixed olefins into the mixed higher olefins; and   producing a product stream comprising the mixed higher olefins from the reactor vessel;   wherein the hydrocarbon feed comprises at least two different types of olefins having 2 to 5 carbons and the mixed higher olefins comprises: (1) olefins having 8 carbons and (2) olefins having more than 8 carbons.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the mixed olefins feed comprises at least two butene isomers. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 2 , wherein the mixed olefins feed comprises all four isomers of butane. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1 , where the ion-exchange resin based catalyst comprises a sulfonic acid cation exchanger in the hydrogen form. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the mixed higher olefins comprises olefins having 8 carbons and olefins having more than 8 carbons. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 5 , wherein the mixed higher olefins comprises diisobutene (DIB). 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 5 , wherein the mixed higher olefins comprise at least 50% by weight olefins having 8 carbons and at least 20% by weight olefins having 12 carbons. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 5 , wherein the olefins having 12 or more carbons comprise: (a) olefins having 12 carbons, (b) olefins having 16 carbons; and (c) olefins having 20 carbons. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 5 , wherein a portion of the olefins having 8 carbons that are formed as part of the product comprises highly branched olefins including dimethyl-hexene and trimethyl-pentene. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 1 , where the reactor vessel is maintained at a temperature of between about 30-180° C. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 1 , further including the step of introducing into the reactor a catalyst promoter which comprises a polar compound. 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 11 , wherein the promoter is at least one of water and butanol. 
     
     
         13 . A process for producing a fuel composition from mixed butenes using a butene dimerization/oligomerization system, the process comprises the step of:
 introducing a mixed butenes stream comprising the mixed butenes into a reactor vessel that is part of the dimerization/oligomerization system under oligomerization conditions;   contacting the mixed butenes stream with an ion-exchange resin based catalyst within the reactor to convert the mixed butenes into a product stream comprising mixed olefins that include highly branched olefins having 8 carbons and olefins having more than 8 carbons; and   combining the product stream with a fuel component to produce the fuel composition;   wherein the mixed butenes comprise n-butene, trans-2-butene, iso-butene, and cis-2-butene; and   wherein the fuel component comprises gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, aviation gasoline, heating oil, bunker oil, or a combination thereof.   
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 13 , wherein the mixed higher olefins comprises olefins having 8 carbons including diisobutene (DIB) and olefins having more than 8 carbons. 
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 14 , wherein the mixed olefins comprise at least 50% by weight olefins having 8 carbons and at least 20% by weight olefins having more than 8 carbons. 
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 14 , wherein the olefins having more than 8 carbons comprise: (a) olefins having 12 carbons, (b) olefins having 16 carbons; and (a) olefins having 20 carbons.