Abstract
Abstract The side-chain alkylation of cumene and ethylene over a solid superbase catalyst K/KOH/γ-Al2O3 is investigated. The effects of the reaction temperature, pressure, and time on the conversion of cumene and selectivity of tert-amylbenzene (TAB) are discussed. The experimental results show that the conversion of cumene to tert-pentylbenzene increases with the increase in reaction temperature and ethylene pressure. The catalytic reaction has certain operational flexibility in terms of the reaction temperature, pressure, and time. In addition, the catalytic reaction can achieve directional conversion. The optimum operating conditions are obtained using a single factor test. The conversion of cumene is 99.8% and the selectivity toward TAB is 97.9% under catalyst concentration of 4 wt%, reaction temperature of 55°C, reaction pressure of 0.45 MPa, and reaction time of 30 min. The deactivation of catalyst is mainly caused by oxygen and water in the raw material.
Highlights
The concept of solid superbase was proposed by Tanabe [1], who defined the solid superbase as a solid whose
Most researchers explored the catalytic characteristics of solid superbase
Suzukamo et al [3] prepared a solid superbase by continuously treating γ-alumina with sodium hydroxide and sodium at 280–350°C under the nitrogen atmosphere
Summary
The concept of solid superbase was proposed by Tanabe [1], who defined the solid superbase as a solid whoseMost researchers explored the catalytic characteristics of solid superbase. Meyer et al [4] studied the catalytic behavior of the superbases Na/NaOH/γ-Al2O3 and CsxO/γ-Al2O3 as well as the basic zeolites Na/NaX and CsxO/CsX in the Michael addition of ethyl acrylate and acetone, and they found that the solid superbase showed high catalytic activity at a lower catalyst loading. Borah et al [5] employed the solid superbase K/γ-Al2O3 as a highly efficient catalyst to perform direct 1,4-addition reactions of simple amides with α, β-unsaturated carbonyls. Ma et al [6] found that when the solid superbase catalyst K/KOH/γ-Al2O3 was used in the transesterification reaction of rapeseed oil and methanol to produce biodiesel, high production efficiency was obtained under mild reaction conditions, the yield of biodiesel can reach as high as 84.52% after 1 h at 60°C, with a 9:1 molar ratio of methanol to oil, a catalyst amount of 4 wt%, and a rotating speed of 270 g
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