PROCESS FOR THE DISPROPORTIONATION OF ETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED COMPOUNDS

1,208,038. Disproportionating olefins. SHELL INTERNATIONALE RESEARCH MAATSCHAPPIJ N.V. 9 June, 1969 [10 June, 1968], No. 27445/68. Heading C5E. Olefinically unsaturated hydrocarbons are disproportionated by contact with a solid supported catalyst containing an inorganic salt of one or more of W, Mo, Ti, Zr, Nb, Ta and Re (other than tungsten sulphide or molybdenum sulphide) on a carrier material which comprises one or more solid oxides and/or phosphates of a Group IIA, IIIA, IVA or IVB element (Mendeleef), said carrier having a surface area of at least 5 sq. m./gm. The inorganic salt may be a phosphate, sulphate or halide, particularly MoCl 5 or WCl 6 . Suitable carriers include aluminium phosphate, gammaalumina and silica-alumina. The catalyst may also contain an alkyl aluminium compound, including halides, but preferably a trialkyl aluminium. Hydrogen may be present. Examples describe the conversion of 2-pentenes to butene-2 and hexene-3, and of 1-pentene to a mixture of C 2-8 olefins including butene-2 and hexene-3, indicating that some 1-pentene had first isomerized to 2-pentene.