Process for producing arylalkanes and arylalkane sulfonates, compositions produced therefrom, and uses thereof

A process for producing arylalkanes, the process comprising the steps of:

• a) passing a feed stream containing paraffins to an isomerization zone, operating the isomerization zone at isomerization conditions sufficient to isomerize paraffins, and recovering from the isomerization zone an isomerized product stream comprising paraffins;
• b) passing at least a portion of the isomerized product stream to a dehydrogenation zone, operating the dehydrogenation zone at dehydrogenation conditions sufficient to dehydrogenate paraffins, and recovering from the dehydrogenation zone a dehydrogenated product stream comprising monoolefins and paraffins;
• c) passing an aryl compound and at least a portion of the dehydrogenated product stream comprising monoolefins to an alkylation zone, operating the alkylation zone at alkylation conditions sufficient to alkylate the aryl compound with monoolefins in the presence of an alkylation catalyst to form arylalkanes comprising molecules having one aryl group and one aliphatic alkyl group, wherein the arylalkanes have:
• (i) an average weight of the aliphatic alkyl groups of the arylalkanes of between the weight of a C10 aliphatic alkyl group and a C13 aliphatic alkyl group;
• (ii) a content of arylalkanes having the phenyl group attached to the 2- and/or 3-position of the aliphatic alkyl group of greater than 55 wt-% of the arylalkanes;
• and
• (iii) an average level of branching of the aliphatic alkyl groups of the arylalkanes of from 0.25 to 1.4 alkyl group branches per arylalkane molecule when the sum of the contents of 2-phenyl-alkanes and 3-phenyl-alkanes is more than 55 wt-% and less than or equal to 85 wt-% of the arylalkanes, or an average level of branching of the aliphatic alkyl groups of the arylalkanes of from 0.4 to 2.0 alkyl group branches per arylalkane molecule when the sum of the concentrations of 2-phenyl-alkanes and the 3-phenyl-alkanes is greater than 85 wt-% of the arylalkanes;
• and
• wherein the aliphatic alkyl groups of the arylalkanes comprise linear aliphatic alkyl groups, mono-branched aliphatic alkyl groups, or di-branched aliphatic alkyl groups, and wherein the alkyl group branches if any on the aliphatic alkyl chain of the aliphatic alkyl groups comprise methyl group branches, ethyl group branches, or propyl group branches, and wherein the alkyl group branches if any attach to any position on the aliphatic alkyl chain of the aliphatic alkyl groups provided that arylalkanes having at least one quaternary carbon atom on the aliphatic alkyl group comprise less than 20% of the arylalkanes;
• d) recovering from the alkylation zone an alkylate product stream comprising arylalkanes and a recycle stream comprising paraffins;
• and
• e) passing at least a portion of the recycle stream to the isomerization zone or the dehydrogenation zone.