Production of alkylaromatic compounds

A process for producing isopropylbenzene product in a reactor having an alkylation zone in series with a transalkylation zone, said process comprising the sequential steps of:

• (a) introducing into the alkylation zone containing an alkylation catalyst, said catalyst comprising at least one solid acid oxide selected from the group consisting of zeolite beta, PSH-3, ITQ-2, MCM-22, MCM-36, MCM-49 and MCM-56, a reaction mixture comprising benzene and propylene, wherein the molar ratio of benzene to propylene is from about 1:1 toabout20:1,
• (b) contacting the reaction mixture of step (a) with the alkylation catalyst under reaction conditions sufficient to react essentially all the propylene to produce product comprising isopropylbenzene, polyisopropylbenzene and benzene,
• (c) introducing into the transalkylation zone containing a transalkylation catalyst, said catalyst comprising at least one solid acid oxide selected from the group consisting of zeolite beta, PSH-3, ITQ-2, MCM-22, MCM-36, MCM-49 and MCM-56, a reaction mixture comprising the product of step (b), additional polyisopropylbenzene, and optionally additional benzene, wherein the molar ratio of benzene to polyisopropylbenzene is from about 0.2:1 to about 20:1,
• (d) contacting the reaction mixture of step (a) with the transalkylation catalyst under reaction conditions sufficient to react at least part of the benzene and polyisopropylbenzene to isopropylbenzene to produce product comprising isopropylbenzene, polyisopropylbenzene and benzene, and
• (e) introducing into a separation zone the product from step (d), whereby isopropylbenzene, polyisopropylbenzene and benzene are separated from each other, the isopropylbenzene is recovered as isopropylbenzene product, the benzene is added to the step (a) reaction mixture and the polyisopropylbenzene is added to the step (c) reaction mixture.

In a process for producing an alkylbenzene product selected from the group consisting of ethylbenzene and isopropylbenzene, the improvement wherein the following process steps are talcen in order:

• (a) introducing into an alkylation zone containing an alkylation catalyst, said catalyst comprising at least one solid acid oxide selected from the group consisting of zeolite beta, PSH-3, ITQ-2, MCM-22, MCM-36, MCM-49 and MCM-56, a reaction mixture comprising benzene and olefin selected from the group consisting of ethylene and propylene, wherein the molar ratio of benzene to olefin is from about 1:1 to about 20:1,
• (b) contacting the reaction mixture of step (a) with the alkylation catalyst under reaction conditions sufficient to react essentially all the olefin to produce product comprising alkylbenzene, polyalkylbenzene and benzene,
• (c) introducing into a transalkylation zone containing a transalkylation catalyst, said catalyst comprising at least one solid acid oxide selected from the group consisting of zeolite beta, PSH-3, 1TQ-2, MCM-22, MCM-36, MCM-49 and MCM-56, a reaction mixture comprising the product of step (b), additional polyailkylbenzene, and optionally additional benzene, wherein the molar ratio of benzene to polyalkylbenzene is from about 0.2:1 to about 20:1,
• (d) contacting the reaction mixture of step (c) with the transalkylation catalyst under reaction conditions sufficient to react at least part of the benzene and polyalkylbenzene to allcylbcnzene to produce product comprising alkylbenzene, polyalkylbcnzenc and benzene, and
• (e) introducing into a separation zone the product from step (d), whereby alkylbenzene, polyalkylbenzene and benzene are separated from each other, the alkylbenzene is recovered as alkylbenzene product, the benzene is added to the step (a) reaction mixture and the polyalkylbenzene is added to the step (c) reaction mixture.

In a process for producing an isopropylbenzene product, the improvement wherein the following process steps are taken in order:

• (a) introducing into an alkylation zone containing an aUcylation catalyst, said catalyst comprising at least one solid acid oxide selected from the group consisting of zeolite beta, PSH-3, ITQ-2, MCM-22, MCM-36, MCM-49 and MCM-56, a reaction mixture comprising benzene and propylene, wherein the molar ratio of benzene to propylene is train about 1:1 to about 20:1,
• (b) contacting the reaction mixture of step (a) with the alkylation catalyst under reaction conditions sufficient to react essentially all the propylene to produce product comprising isopropylbenzene, polyisopropylbenzene and benzene,
• (c) introducing into a transalkylation zone containing a transalkylation catalyst, said catalyst comprising at least one solid acid oxide selected from the group consisting of zeolite beta, PSH-3, ITQ-2, MCM-22, MCM-36, MCM-49 and MCM-56, a reaction mixture comprising the product of step (b), additional polyisopropylbenzene, and optionally additional benzene, wherein the molar ratio of benzene to polyisopropylbenzene is from about 0.2:1 to about 20:1,
• (d) contacting the reaction mixture of step (c) with the transalkylation catalyst under reaction conditions sufficient to react at least part of the benzene and palyisopropylbenzene to isopropylbenzene to produce product comprising isopropylben-sene, polyisopropylbenzene and benzene, and
• (e) introducing into a separation zone the product from step (d), whereby isopropylbenzene, polyisopropylbenzene and benzene are separated from each other, the isopropylbenzene is recovered as isopropylbenzene product, the benzene is added to the step (a) reaction mixture and the polyisopropylbenzene is added to the step (c) reaction mixture.