PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF STYRENE FROM XYLENE BY DEHYDROGENATION OF ETHYL BENZENE

摘要

A process for producing styrene, comprising: contacting a feed mixture comprising ethyl benzene and xylene with a dehydrogenation catalyst in a dehydrogenation reactor to form a reaction mixture comprising styrene, xylene, ethyl benzene, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing under operating conditions to produce a greater than or equal to 70% conversion of the ethyl benzene to styrene; and passing the reaction mixture through a divided wall distillation column to separate the styrene from the other components of the reaction mixture, wherein styrene is removed as a first product from the divided wall distillation column at a bottom portion of the divided wall distillation column and the other components of the reaction mixture are removed as a second product at a top portion of the divided wall distillation column.