Process for the preparation of substituted aromatic compound employing friedel-crafts reaction using a reusable basic anionic clay catalyst

A process for Friedel-Crafts liquid phase alkylation of an aromatic compound using a basic anionic clay hydrotalcite solid catalyst, said compound is represented by a formula:

• (R1R2R3R4)—M—H
• which being reacted with an alkylating agent represented by a formula:
• (R5R6R7)—Y—X
• to produce corresponding alkylated aromatic compound represented by a formula:
• (R1R2R3R4)—M—Y—(R5R6R7),
• wherein M is an aromatic nucleus;
• R1, R2, R3 and R4 are groups attached to the aromatic nucleus, M;
• Y, which is a nucleus of alkylating agent, is selected from C6H2—CnH2n, C6H2—CO, CnH2n−2, CmH2m−4 and C—CO;
• R5, R6 and R7 are groups attached to the nucleus of alkylating agent, Y;
• X is a halogen or hydroxyl chemical group;
• H is hydrogen;
• C is carbon;
• O is oxygen;
• n and m are integer numbers having value above zero and above one, respectively;
• using a basic anionic clay catalyst represented by a formula:
• [(M2+)1−x(M3+)x(OH)2]x+.[Ay−]x/y.q.H2O
• where M2+ is a divalent cation selected from Mg2+, Zn2+ Ni2+, Co2+, Mn2+, Cu2+ or a mixture thereof;
• M3+ is a trivalent cation selected from Ga3+, In3+ Al3+ Fe3+ Cr3+ or a mixture thereof;
• x is a mole fraction of trivalent cations in the range of about 0.05 to about 0.5;
• O is oxygen;
• H is hydrogen;
• Ay− is an anion;
• y minus is an anionic negative charge having a value of 1 minus or 2 minus;
• and q is a number of water molecules, as the water of hydration;
• and said catalyst having X-ray diffraction pattern similar to that of a typical hydrotalcite anionic clay material, with or without supporting it on a porous catalyst carrier;
• the said process comprises:
• i. pretreating said catalyst by contacting it with a halogen containing compound in the presence or absence of a non-aqueous solvent and optionally washing the pretreated catalyst with non-aqueous solvent or liquid aromatic compound to be alkylated, and then
• ii. contacting a liquid reaction mixture comprising said aromatic compound and said alkylating agent in the presence or absence of a non-aqueous solvent with the catalyst obtained from step (i) in a stirred batch reactor fitted with a reflux condenser under vigorous stirring, in the presence or absence of an inert gas bubbling through the reaction mixture, at following reaction conditions:
• weight ratio of catalyst to alkylating agent in the range from about 0.01 to about 2.0, mole ratio of aromatic compound to alkylating agent in the range from about 0.1 to about 100, weight ratio of non-aqueous solvent to aromatic compound in the range from zero to about 100, reaction temperature in the range from about 10° C. to about 300° C., pressure in the range from about 0.5 aim to about 10 atm, gas hourly space velocity of inert gas bubbled through the liquid reaction mixture in the iii. range from zero h−1 to about 5000 h−1 and reaction period in the range from about 0.02 h to about 100 h;
• iii. cooling the reaction mixture to a temperature about 30° C., removing said catalyst from the reaction mixture by filtration and then separating the reaction products from the reaction mixture, and optionally washing the used catalyst by non-aqueous solvent;
• and optionally,
• iv. reusing the used catalyst directly with or without drying for the subsequent reaction batch avoiding step (i).