Patent ID: 6303840
Filing Date: 2001-10-16
Classification: B01J,C07B,C07C,Y02P

Abstract:
A method for performing an alkylation reaction to attach an alkyl group to an aromatic ring of an aromatic substrate to form a predetermined alkyl-substituted aromatic compound, the method comprising:providing the aromatic substrate,intimately mixing the substrate and an alkylating agent, andexposing a mixture thus formed to an acid catalyst;wherein exposing occurs in a continuous process under supercritical or near-critical conditions, the near-critical conditions being conditions below supercritical at which the density of a fluid present is sufficient to ensure that the reactants are present in a single phase, wherein reaction conditions of temperature, pressure, flow rate and reactant concentration and the catalyst are controlled and operative to effect product selectivity favoring said product, and wherein the substrate is not naphthalene when the acid is a porous solid acid catalyst and reaction is carried out in the presence of carbon dioxide and an aromatic ring-containing solvent and when the alkylating agent provides a source of methyl groups.