Processes for making alkylbenzenesulfonate surfactants and products thereof

A process for preparing modified alkylbenzenesulfonate surfactant suitable for use in cleaning products, said process comprising

• (a) a step of arriving at a reduced-linearity alkylating agent selected from an olefin having molecular weight, n, of at least about 126 and no more than about 280 and produced by a sequence of steps comprising:
• (i) skeletally isomerizing a linear paraffin having molecular weight of n+2 wherein n is said molecular weight of said olefin;
• and
• (ii) dehydrogenating the isomerized paraffin;
• and
• (b) a monoalkylation step having an internal isomer selectivity of from 0 to 40 comprising reacting the product of step (a) with an aromatic hydrocarbon selected from benzene, toluene and mixtures thereof in the presence of an alkylation catalyst.

A method for improving the cleaning performance of a consumer cleaning product containing alkylarylsulfonate surfactant, said method comprising:

• (a) at least one stage of delinearizing a (C10-C16 alkyl)arene to at least a minimum extent of about 0.1 methyl moieties per molecule of said alkylarene and a maximum extent of from about 1 to about 2.5 methyl moieties per molecule of said alkylarene, said stage comprising at least one linearity reduction step conducted prior to, in parallel with, or subsequent to, a step of coupling alkyl precursor and aryl precursor portions of said alkylarene;
• (b) at least one step of sulfonating the alkylarene product of stage (a);
• and
• (c) at least one step of formulating the alkylarylsulfonate surfactant product of step (b) in acid or salt form into a cleaning composition.