the production of hydrocarbons by dehydration of primary alcohols characterized in that trifluoromethanesulfonic acid is used as the dehydration catalyst suitable primary alcohols are for example hexanol heptanol octanol nonanol decanol undecanol undecenol dodecanol tridecanol tetradecanol pentadecanol hexadecanol heptadecanol octadecanol octadecenol nonadecanol eicosanol eicosenol heneicosanol docosanol and docosenol the technical mixtures of primary alcohols obtainable from natural fats and oils by standard oleochemical methods may also be used in accordance with the invention such alcohols include caproic oenanthic caprylic pelargonic capric lauryl myristyl cetyl stearyl arachidyl behenyl oleyl elaidyl linoleyl gadoleyl arachidonic erucic and brassidyl alcohol preferred primary alcohols are linear or branched saturated or unsaturated c6 c30 alcohols primary c6 c18 alcohols preferably c10 c14 alcohols are preferably used with c10 c14 alcohols the reaction gives particularly good yields in a preferred variant of the process the alcohols are selected from branched c7 c13 alcohols such alcohols include guerbet alcohols such as 2 ethylhexanol and in particular the exxal u00ae alcohols marketed by exxon such as for example isoheptanol exxal u00ae 7 iso octanol exxal u00ae bn isononanol exxal u00ae 9 isodecanol exxal u00ae 10 isoundecanol exxal u00ae 11 isotridecanol exxal u00ae 13 besides 2 ethylhexanol guerbet alcohols suitable for use in accordance with the invention include 2 propylheptanol 2 butyloctanol and 2 hexyldecanol the dehydration process according to the invention is generally carried out at temperatures in the range from 190 to 260 u00b0 c preferably at temperatures in the range from 200 to 250 u00b0 c and more particularly at temperatures in the range from 220 to 250 u00b0 c in another embodiment of.