Process for making styrene using mircohannel process technology

Abstract

The disclosed invention relates to a process for converting ethylbenzene to styrene, comprising: flowing a feed composition comprising ethylbenzene in at least one process microchannel in contact with at least one catalyst to dehydrogenate the ethylbenzene and form a product comprising styrene; exchanging heat between the process microchannel and at least one heat exchange channel in thermal contact with the process microchannel; and removing product from the process microchannel. Also disclosed is an apparatus comprising a process microchannel, a heat exchange channel, and a heat transfer wall positioned between the process microchannel and heat exchange channel wherein the heat transfer wall comprises a thermal resistance layer.

1 - 148 . (canceled) 
     
     
         149 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a process microchannel, the process microchannel containing a catalyst;   a heat exchange channel; and   a heat transfer wall positioned between the process microchannel and the heat exchange channel, the heat transfer wall comprising at least one thermal resistance layer.   
     
     
         150 . The apparatus of  claim 149  wherein the thermal resistance layer is positioned on the heat transfer wall and/or embedded within the heat transfer wall. 
     
     
         151 . The apparatus of  claim 149  wherein the thermal resistance layer comprises a vacuum, a gaseous material, a liquid and/or a solid material. 
     
     
         152 . The apparatus of  claim 149  wherein the thermal resistance layer comprises a solid material which contains void spaces, openings and/or through holes. 
     
     
         153 . The apparatus of  claim 149  wherein the thermal resistance layer comprises one or more strips or shims which contain void spaces, openings and/or through holes. 
     
     
         154 . The apparatus of  claim 149  wherein the thermal resistance layer comprises one or more strips or shims with grooves formed in the strip. 
     
     
         155 . The apparatus of  claim 149  wherein the thermal resistance layer comprises one or more strips or shims, each of the shims having a first surface and a second surface, and grooves formed in the first surface and/or the second surface. 
     
     
         156 . The apparatus of  claim 149  wherein the process microchannel comprises at least one structured wall. 
     
     
         157 . The apparatus of  claim 149  wherein the heat transfer wall forms an interior wall of the process microchannel and one or more shims are positioned on said interior wall, the one or more shims containing void spaces, openings and/or through holes. 
     
     
         158 . The apparatus of  claim 157  wherein a the catalyst is supported by the one or more shims. 
     
     
         159 . The apparatus of  claim 149  wherein the process microchannel has an internal dimension of width or height of up to about 10 mm. 
     
     
         160 . The apparatus of  claim 149  wherein the process microchannel has a length in the range up to about 10 meters. 
     
     
         161 . The apparatus of  claim 149  wherein the process microchannel is made of a material comprising: steel; monel; inconel; aluminum; titanium; nickel; copper; brass; an alloy of any of the foregoing metals; ceramics; glass; quartz; silicon; or a combination of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         162 . The apparatus of  claim 149  wherein the process microchannel and/or heat exchange channel contain internal surface features for imparting a disruptive flow to fluid flowing in the process microchannels and/or heat exchange channels. 
     
     
         163 . The apparatus of  claim 149  wherein the heat exchange channel is a microchannel. 
     
     
         164 . The apparatus of  claim 149  wherein the heat exchange channel is made of a material comprising: steel; monel; inconel; aluminum; titanium; nickel; copper; brass; an alloy of any of the foregoing metals; ceramics; glass; quartz; silicon; or a combination of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         165 . The apparatus of  claim 149  wherein the heat transfer wall is made of a material comprising: steel; monel; inconel; aluminum; titanium; nickel; copper; brass; an alloy of any of the foregoing metals; ceramics; glass; quartz; silicon; or a combination of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         166 . The apparatus of  claim 149  wherein the heat transfer wall and/or thermal resistance layer comprise one or more sub-assemblies, each sub-assembly comprising two or more shims stacked one above another with one or more void spaces positioned between the shims. 
     
     
         167 . The apparatus of  claim 149  wherein one or more staged addition channels are adjacent the process microchannel. 
     
     
         168 . A microchannel reactor comprising the apparatus of  claim 149 . 
     
     
         169 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a plurality of the microchannel reactors of  claim 168  positioned in a vessel, each microchannel reactor comprises a plurality of process microchannels, a plurality of heat exchange channels, and optionally a plurality of staged addition channels,   the vessel being equipped with a manifold for flowing a feed to the process microchannels, a manifold for flowing product from the process microchannels, a manifold for flowing heat exchange fluid to the heat exchange channels, optionally a manifold for flowing oxygen or a source of oxygen to the staged addition channels, and a manifold for flowing heat exchange fluid from the heat exchange channels.   
     
     
         170 . The apparatus of  claim 169  wherein each microchannel reactor comprises from about 1 to about 50,000 process microchannels, and the vessel comprises from 1 to about 1000 microchannel reactors. 
     
     
         171 . The apparatus of  claim 169  wherein the process microchannels have internal dimensions of width or height of up to about 10 mm. 
     
     
         172 . The apparatus of  claim 169  wherein the process microchannels have lengths in the range up to about 10 meters. 
     
     
         173 . The apparatus of  claim 169  wherein the process microchannels are made of a material comprising: steel; monel; inconel; aluminum; titanium; nickel; copper; brass; an alloy of any of the foregoing metals; ceramics; glass; quartz; silicon; or a combination of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         174 . The apparatus of  claim 169  wherein the process microchannels and/or heat exchange channels contain internal surface features for imparting a disruptive flow to fluid flowing in the process microchannels and/or heat exchange channels. 
     
     
         175 . The apparatus of  claim 169  wherein the heat exchange channels are microchannels. 
     
     
         176 . The apparatus of  claim 169  wherein the heat exchange channels are made of a material comprising: steel; monel; inconel; aluminum; titanium; nickel; copper; brass; an alloy of any of the foregoing metals; ceramics; glass; quartz; silicon; or a combination of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         177 . The apparatus of  claim 169  wherein the staged addition channels are microchannels. 
     
     
         178 . The apparatus of  claim 169  wherein the staged addition channels are made of a material comprising: steel; monel; inconel; aluminum; titanium; nickel; copper; brass; an alloy of any of the foregoing metals; ceramics; glass; quartz; silicon; or a combination of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         179 . A process for converting ethylbenzene to styrene in the apparatus of  claim 149 , the process comprising:
 flowing a feed composition comprising ethylbenzene in the process microchannel in contact with the catalyst to dehydrogenate the ethylbenzene and form a product comprising styrene;   exchanging heat between the process microchannel and the heat exchange channel; and   removing product from the process microchannel.   
     
     
         180 . The process of  claim 179  wherein the catalyst is a dehydrogenation catalyst and the process is a dehydrogenation process, the process microchannel being heated by heat being transferred from the heat exchange channel through the heat transfer wall to the process microchannel. 
     
     
         181 . The process of  claim 179  wherein the catalyst is an oxidative dehydrogenation catalyst and the process is an oxidative dehydrogenation process, the process microchannel being cooled by heat being transferred from the process microchannel through the heat transfer wall to the process microchannel. 
     
     
         182 . The process of  claim 180  wherein the temperature in the heat exchange channel is higher than the temperature in the process microchannel. 
     
     
         183 . The process of  claim 181  wherein the temperature in the heat exchange channel is lower than the temperature in the process microchannel. 
     
     
         184 . The process of  claim 179  wherein a tailored thermal profile is established along the length of the process microchannel. 
     
     
         185 . A process for converting ethane to ethylene in the apparatus of  claim 149 , the process comprising:
 flowing a feed composition comprising ethane in the process microchannel in contact with the catalyst to dehydrogenate the ethane and form a product comprising ethylene;   exchanging heat between the process microchannel and the heat exchange channel; and   removing product from the process microchannel.   
     
     
         186 . The process of  claim 185  wherein the catalyst is a dehydrogenation catalyst and the process is a dehydrogenation process, the process microchannel being heated by heat being transferred from the heat exchange channel through the heat transfer wall to the process microchannel. 
     
     
         187 . The process of  claim 185  wherein the catalyst is an oxidative dehydrogenation catalyst and the process is an oxidative dehydrogenation process, the process microchannel being cooled by heat being transferred from the process microchannel through the heat transfer wall to the process microchannel. 
     
     
         188 . The process of  claim 186  wherein the temperature in the heat exchange channel is higher than the temperature in the process microchannel. 
     
     
         189 . The process of  claim 187  wherein the temperature in the heat exchange channel is lower than the temperature in the process microchannel. 
     
     
         190 . The process of  185  wherein a tailored thermal profile is established along the length of the process microchannel.