Production of Methyl-substituted Biphenyl Compounds
AssigneeExxonMobil Chemical Patents Inc.
InventorsJihad M. Dakka, Lorenzo C. Decaul, Michael P. Lanci, Wei Tang
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Abstract
In a process for producing a methyl-substituted biphenyl compound, at least one methyl-substituted cyclohexylbenzene compound of the formula: wherein each of m and n is independently 1, 2, or 3, is contacted with hydrogen in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst to produce a hydrogenation reaction product comprising at least one methyl-substituted bicyclohexane compound, and the methyl-substituted bicyclohexane compound is then contacted with a dehydrogenation catalyst to produce a dehydrogenation reaction product comprising at least one methyl-substituted biphenyl compound.
Claims25
A process for producing a methyl-substituted biphenyl compound, the process comprising:
- (a) providing a mixture comprising at least one methyl-substituted cyclohexylbenzene compound of the formula (I) below:
- (b) contacting at least part of the mixture with hydrogen in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst under conditions effective to produce a hydrogenation reaction product comprising at least one methyl-substituted bicyclohexane compound of the formula (II) below;
- wherein each of m and n in formulas (I) and (II) is independently 1, 2, or 3;
- and
- (c) contacting at least part of the hydrogenation reaction product with a dehydrogenation catalyst under conditions effective to produce a dehydrogenation reaction product comprising at least one methyl-substituted biphenyl compound.
A composition comprising less than about 30 wt % of 1,X′- and/or 2-X′-isomers of dimethylbicyclohexane and/or tetramethylbicyclohexane based on the total weight of isomers of dimethylbicyclohexane and/or tetramethylbicyclohexane of the composition, wherein X′ is 2′, 3′, or 4′.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.