The catalytic characteristic and synthesis technique for 4-methyl-1-pentene over a potassium-supported superbase catalyst

The dimerization of propene to 4-methyl-1-pentene (4MP1) was studied in a fixed-bed reactor at 150 °C temperature, 8 MPa pressure, and 1 h−1 liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) in the presence of solid superbase with 20 wt% one-pass conversion to hexene and 88% selectivity toward 4MP1. Based on the reaction results, propene competes with 4MP1 for adsorption on the catalyst surface. A higher reaction pressure or a lower liquid rate of 4MP1, controlled by a suitable propene LHSV or reaction temperature, was beneficial to the adsorption of propene, which reduced the isomerization of 4MP1. Under optimized conditions, propene dimerization was stable for 200 h, and isomerization was limited to less than 5%, yielding products with about 19% one-pass conversion to hexene by weight and 87% selectivity toward 4MP1.