A process for the production of high octane number gasoline from light
refinery olefins and benzene-containing aromatic streams such as
reformate. The process achieves good utilization of both the ethylene and
the propylene present in the mixed olefin feed from the unsaturated gas
plant while reducing gasoline benzene levels. The light olefins including
ethylene and propylene are reacted with the light aromatic stream
containing benzene and other single ring aromatic compounds to form a
gasoline boiling range product containing akylaromatics. The reaction is
carried out with a two-catalyst system which comprises a member of the
MWW family of zeolites and an intermediate pore size zeolite such as
ZSM-5 using a fixed catalyst bed in both stages. Use of the two catalyst
system enables the conversion of the ethylene and propylene components of
the olefin feed to be converted to alkylaromatics under favorable
conditions.