Patent ID: 6156949
Filing Date: 2000-12-05
Classification: C07C

Abstract:
A process for the selective production of pseudocumene which comprises the steps of:reacting a xylene feed with a first feed comprising methanol in a first reaction step to produce a first reaction effluent; andsubsequent to said first reaction step, introducing at least a second feed comprising methanol into said first reaction effluent and reacting said second feed with said first reaction effluent in a second reaction step,wherein the first and second reaction steps are conducted in the presence of a molecular sieve catalyst having a alpha value of less than 1 under alkylation conditions including a temperature of about 1000.degree. F. to about 1150.degree. F. a pressure from about 1 to about 2 atmospheres, a weight hourly space velocity between about 0.5 and about 5.0, so that said process attains at least 15 percent single pass conversion of the xylene feed and at least 25 percent methanol utilization and produces a product stream in which pseudocumene comprises at least 90 mole percent of the C.sub.9 + fraction and which has a pseudocumene to durene ratio of at least 10.