FEEDSTOCK DEWATERING AND ETHERIFICATION OF CRUDE ETHANOL

摘要

Crude aqueous ethanol feedstock is reacted with iso-olefinic hydrocarbons to produce C6+ ethyl t-alkyl ethers by distilling the feedstock, contacting ethanol rich distillate overhead containing a minor amount of water with a liquid hydrocarbon extractant rich in C4+ isoalkene under liquid extraction conditions, recovering an aqueous phase containing water introduced from the overhead, recovering an organic extract phase comprising the hydrocarbon extractant and a major amount of ethanol introduced in the feedstock, and reacting the extracted ethanol and C4+ isoalkene in contact with an acid etherification catalyst under catalytic reaction conditions to produce ether product.