Claims
- 1. A process for preparing long chain alkyl aromatic compounds which comprises contaccting at least one alkylatable aromatic compound with at least one alkylting agent possessing an alkylating aliphatic group having at least six carbon atoms under alkylation reaction conditions and in the presence of an alkylation catalyst to provide an alkylated aromatic product possessing at least one alkyl group derived from said alkylating agent, said catalyst comprising a Lewis acid-promoted zeolite possessing a Constraint Index of no greater than about 5 and said zeolite being characterized by an X-ray diffraction pattern including values substantially as set forth in Table A of the specification.
- 2. The process of claim 1 wherein the zeolite possesses a Constraint Index of not greater than about 3.
- 3. The process of claim 1 wherien the zeolite is characterized by an X-ray diffraction pattern including values substantially as set forth in Table B of the specification.
- 4. The process of claim 1 wherein the zeolite is characterized by an X-ray diffraction pattern including values substantially as set forth in Table C of the specification.
- 5. The process of claim 1 wherein the zeolite is characterized by an X-ray diffraction pattern including values substantially as set forth in Table D of the specification.
- 6. The process of claim 1 wherein the zeolite has a composition comprising the molar relationship
- X.sub.2 O.sub.3 :(n)YO.sub.2,
- wherein n is at least about 10, X is a trivalent element and Y is a tetravalent element.
- 7. The process of claim 1 wherien the zeolite possesses equilibrium adsorption capacities of greater than about 4.5 wt. % for cyclohexane vapor and greater than about 10 wt. % for n-hexane vapor.
- 8. The process of claim 6 wherein X is selected from the group consisting of aluminum, boron, gallium and combinations thereof and Y is selected from the group consisting of silicon, germanium and combinations thereof.
- 9. The process of claim 6 wherein X comprises aluminum and Y comprises silicon.
- 10. The process of claim 1 wherein the zeolite has been treated to replace original cations, at least in part, with a cation or mixture of cations selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, hydrogen precursors, rare earth metals, and metals of Groups IIA, IIIA, IVA, IB, IIB, IIIB, IVB, VIB and VIII of the Periodic Table.
- 11. The process of claim 1 wherein the zeolite has been thermally treated at a temperature up to about 925.degree. C. in the presence or absence of steam.
- 12. The process of claim 10 wherein the zeolite has been thermally treated at a temperature up to about 925.degree. C. in the presence or absence of steam.
- 13. THe process of claim 1, wherein the Lewis acid is selected from the group consisting of BF.sub.3, BCl.sub.3, SbF.sub.3 and AlCl.sub.3.
- 14. The process of claim 1, wherein the alkylation is carried out in the opresence of small amounts of water and/or other material which produces water under alkylation reaction conditions to suppress catalyst aging.
- 15. The process of claim 1 wherein the alkylating aliphatic group contains at least about 8 carbon atoms.
- 16. The process of claim 1 wherein the alkylating aliphatic group contains at least about 12 carbon atoms.
- 17. The process of claim 1 wherein the alkylating agent is an olefin.
- 18. The process of claim 1 wherein the alkylating agent is an alcohol.
- 19. The process of claim 1 wherein the alkylating agent is an alkyl halide.
- 20. The process of claim 1 wherein the alkylatable armoatic compound is selected from the group consistign of benzene, xylene, toluene and 1,2,3,5-tetramethylbenzene.
- 21. The process of claim 1 wherein the alkylatable aromatic compound is selected from the group consisting of naphthalene, anthracene, naphthacene, perylene, coronene and phenanthrene.
- 22. The process of claim 1 wherein the alkylation reaction conditions include a temperature of from about -40.degree. C. to about 250.degree. C., a pressure of from about 0.2 to about 25 atmospheres, an WHSV of from about 0.01 to 500 hr.sup.-1 and an alkylatable aromatic compound to alkylating agent mole ratio of from about 0.1:1 to 50:1.
- 23. The process of claim 1 wherein said zeolite is composited with a matrix material.
- 24. The process of claim 23 wherein said matrix material is selected from the group consisting of silica, alumina, zirconia, titania, beryllia, magnesia, thoria, and combinations thereof.
- 25. The process of claim 1 wherein said Lewis acid is continuously introduced into the alkylation reaction as a co-feed.
- 26. The process of claim 25 wherein the amount of Lewis acid introduced is sufficient to saturate the catalyst.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 254,524, filed Oct. 6, 1988, which is now U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,325, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 98,176, filed Sept. 18, 1987, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 890,268, filed Jul. 29, 1986, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (22)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0231860 |
Aug 1987 |
EPX |
0293032 |
Nov 1988 |
EPX |
Continuation in Parts (3)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
254524 |
Oct 1988 |
|
Parent |
98176 |
Sep 1987 |
|
Parent |
890268 |
Jul 1986 |
|