Review of Reaction Technology for Alkylation of Benzene with Long Chain Alkenes

Qiao Congzhen^1,2, Li Chengyue¹, Zhang Jinchang¹
(¹The Key Laboratory of Science and Technology of Controllable Chemical Reactions, Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Chemical Tehnology, Beijing 100029 ²Chemistry and Chemical Engineering College of Henan University, Kaifeng 475001)

Abstract This paper reviews the status of catalyst and reaction technology for alkylation of benzene with long chain alkenes. Conventional methods for the production of linear alkylbenzene generally use HF or AlCl₃ as acid catalysts. These processes feature serious environmental drawbacks. Along with the development of new green catalysts, various new reaction technologies such as fixed-bed, reaction-distillation, liquid-solid cycling fluidized bed and suspension catalytic distillation were proposed and introduced to this reaction system, although at present only the UOP Detal technology has been commercialized. Further studies should be made not only to seek for the eco-friendly catalysts with high activity at low-temperature, selectivity and long-term stability under commercial operating conditions, but also to innovate technologies to improve the performances of the whole reaction-separation system.
Key words Benzene, Long chain alkenes, Alkylation, Reaction technology

长链烯烃与苯烷基化反应技术述评