Patent ID: 9295962
Filing Date: 2016-03-29
CPC Classification: B01J,C07C

Claim Text:
1. A process for producing paraxylene, the process comprising: (a) alkylating benzene and/or toluene with methanol in the presence of a catalyst under conditions effective to convert said benzene and/or toluene to xylene and produce a product stream containing water, xylene and one or more phenolic impurities, wherein said catalyst comprises a porous crystalline material having a Diffusion Parameter for 2,2 dimethylbutane of about 0.1-15 sec (b) separating said product stream into a water-rich stream and a xylene-rich stream containing one or more phenolic impurities; and (c) contacting at least a portion of said xylene-rich stream with an aqueous solution of a base in a plurality of stages under conditions to reduce the level of phenolic impurities in said xylene-rich stream to less than 0.1 ppmw, wherein said xylene-rich stream is in a liquid phase; then (d) washing said xylene-rich stream with water to remove any phenate salts and any residual aqueous solution of base; then (e) a step of separation of paraxylene from said xylene-rich stream by adsorptive separation to leave a paraxylene-depleted stream.