Patent ID: 6589927
Filing Date: 2003-07-08
Classification: C11D

Abstract:
A process of making a modified alkylbenzene sulfonate comprising the steps of:a) passing a feed stream containing C8-C28 paraffins to an isomerization zone, operating the isomerization zone at isomerization conditions sufficient to isomerize paraffins and recovering from the isomerization zone an isomerized product stream comprising paraffins; b) passing at least a portion of said isomerized product stream admixed with a diluent material of hydrogen such that there is a hydrogen to hydrocarbon mole ratio of about 0.1:1 to about 40:1; to a dehydrogenation zone, operating the dehydrogenation zone at dehydrogenation conditions sufficient to dehydrogenate paraffins, and recovering from the dehydrogenation zone a dehydrogenated product stream comprising linear olefins, branched monoolefins and paraffins, wherein the branched monoolefins have from about 8 to about 28 carbon atoms and wherein at least a portion of the branched monoolefins in the dehydrogenated product stream comprise lightly branched monoolefins, wherein at least 70 mol % of the total lightly branched monoolefins have 3 or 4 primary carbon atoms and no quaternary carbon atoms; c) passing an aryl compound and at least a portion of the dehydrogenated product stream comprising branched monoolefins to an alkylation zone, operating the alkylation zone at alkylation conditions sufficient to alkylate the aryl compound with branched monoolefins in the presence of an alkylation catalyst to form arylalkane molecules having one aryl portion and one aliphatic alkyl portion containing from about 8 to about 28 carbon atoms; wherein at least a portion of the arylalkane molecules formed in the alkylation zone have 2, 3, or 4 primary carbon atoms, and no quaternary carbon atoms except for any quaternary carbon atom bonded by a carbon-carbon bond with a carbon atom of the aryl portion; and wherein the alkylation has a selectivity to 2-phenyl-alkanes of from 40 to 100 and a selectivity to internal quaternary phenyl-alkanes of less than 10; d) recovering from the alkylation zone an alkylate product stream comprising the aryl-alkane molecules and a recycle stream comprising paraffins; e) passing at least a portion of the recycle stream to the isomerization zone or the dehydrogenation zone; f) sulfonating said alkylate product stream to produce a sulfonated alkyl product stream; and g) optionally, neutralizing said sulfonated alkyl product stream to produce the modified alkylbenzene sulfonate with an average alkyl carbon chain length of from about 10 to about 14.