Environmentally benign catalytic synthesis and hydro‐refining of linear alkylbenzenes

Abstract

The synthesis technology of linear alkylbenzenes (LABs) was studied through the preparation of an Al‐SBA‐15 catalyst, the optimization of alkylation conditions, and the regeneration of deactivated catalyst. The hydro‐refining over the Pd/Al2O3 catalyst was carried out to remove unsaturated hydrocarbon impurities from the LAB. The results of the alkylation reactions over the Al‐SBA‐15 catalyst in a liquid fixed bed reactor showed that the olefin conversion remained above 98 % for time on stream of 3000 h, and the LAB selectivity was above 93 % under the following conditions: temperature of 260 °C; pressure of 5.0 MPa; weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) of 1.0 h−1; and the molar ratio of benzene to olefin of 25:1. Through the burning coke regeneration, the catalytic performance of the deactivated alkylation catalyst was satisfactorily restored. The quality of the LAB synthesized through alkylation and hydro‐refining was better than that of the industrial LAB produced using the hydrofluoric acid catalytic process.