Bound pillared clay for use in the production of alkyl aromatic compounds

Abstract: Alkyl aromatic compounds are prepared by reacting at alkylation conditions an aromatic compound such as benzene with an alkylating agent such as an olefin, alkyl halide or alkyl alcohol in the presence of an alkylation catalyst comprising a pillared clay and a binder which has been prepared by dispersing a clay in a metallic pillaring agent sol, separating the resultant pillared clay, washing and drying said pillared clay, forming a dough of said pillared clay and a binder compound, extruding said dough extudate and calcining the resultant extrudate. This catalyst enables improved selectivity for the desired linear alkyl aromatic compound which may then be used in the preparation of biodegradable detergents.

Description: Alkyl aromatic compounds form important chemicals which may be utilized as intermediates in many industrial applications as, for example, polymeric material, plasticizers, detergents, etc. Heretofore, the production of alkyl aromatic compounds has been effected by alkylating an aromatic compound with an alkylating agent in the presence of acidic catalysts. These acidic catalysts include sulfuric acid and hydrofluoric acid due to the relatively good activity for the purpose intended. However, the use of these liquid acids such as sulfuric acid or hydrofluoric acid has inherently some drawbacks or shortcomings. The acids hereinbefore named are extremely corrosive in nature, thus requiring special handling and equipment due to the dangerous nature thereof. In addition, the use of these acids might also involve some environmentally hazardous problems which are attendant thereto. Therefore, it would be preferable to utilize a safer and more simple catalyst, preferentially in solid state, in a fixed bed reactor to produce the desired compounds. The use of a simpler process would result in less capital investment and therefore enable the producer to provide a less expensive product. In view of this it has now been discovered that a solid alkylation catalyst may be employed to effect the desired alkylation to obtain a production which is equal in quality to those products obtained when utilizing liquid acidic catalyst while also improving the activity of the catalyst as well as the selectivity of the product. Naturally occurring clays such as smectites, vermiculites and bentonites are composed of semicrystalline aluminosilicate layers (lamellae) held together by Van der Waals and electrostatic forces. Anionic charges on the siliceous layers are neutralized by cations in the interlamellar spaces. These cations, usually Na⁺, Ca⁺², can be ion exchanged with large inorganic cations such as Fe⁺³, Cr⁺³ or with metal hydroxy polymer cations such as [Al₁₃O₄(OH)₂₄(H₂O)₁₂]⁺⁷ or [Zr(OH)₂ 4H₂O]₄⁸⁺. The polymeric cations act as pillars, propping the clay layers apart. Pillared clays are known to catalyze numerous reactions such as alkylation, cracking, ester formation, dimerization, oligomerization, etc. A review of the reactions catalyzed by pillared clays may be found in an article by J.M. Adams, Applied Clay Science , 2 , pp. 309-342 (1987). Of these reactions, alkylation has received considerable attention. For example, US-A-4,499,319 discloses layered clays such as montmorillonite which have been ion-exchanged with metal cations such as chromium and aluminum, which are used to alkylate aromatic compounds. Other examples include US-A-4,605,806 which discloses a hydrogen ion-exchanged pillared clay; US-A-3,965,043 which discloses a metallic cation exchanged trioctahedral 2:1 layer-lattice smectite-type clay and US-A-3,979,331 which discloses a metallic cation exchanged synthetic hectorite-type clay useful for alkylating aromatic hydrocarbons. In US-A-4719191 pillared clay catalysts are disclosed which are admixed with a stability increasing compound selected from the group consisting of silicon, titanium, phosphorus and antimony halides and ethyl silicates. In contrast to the prior art, it has now been discovered that the alkylation of aromatic compounds may be accomplished by utilizing a pillared clay which has been admixed with a binder compound and the resulting dough extruded, dried and calcined to form the desired catalytic composition of matter. The resulting catalyst will possess excellent characteristics with respect to the activity of the catalyst as well as to the selectivity of the product which is obtained by the alkylation reaction. This invention relates to a process for producing alkyl aromatic compounds as well as to a catalyst which may be used to effect the desired reaction. More particularly, this invention relates to a process for producing an alkylaromatic compound which can be used to prepare a highly biodegradable detergent due to the presence of straight chain alkyl substituents on the aromatic ring which permit bacteria to act upon the alkyl chain and destroy the detergents, thereby minimizing the formation of foams or suds which will then not build up on the surface of the water. By utilizing the catalyst of the present invention, it is possible to obtain straight chain alkyl aryl detergents due to the excellent selectivity characteristics of the catalyst, especially with regard to alpha-olefins to obtain the desired alkyl aromatic product. When utilizing the catalyst of the present invention, it is possible to effect an alkylation process in which the activity of the catalyst will be maintained for a relatively lengthy period of time as well as obtaining a selective product from the reaction. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a catalytic composition of matter which may be used to effect an alkylation of aromatic compounds. In one aspect an embodiment of this invention resides in a process for the production of an alkylaromatic compound which comprises reacting an aromatic compound with an alkylating agent selected from the group consisting of olefins, alkyl halides and alkyl alcohols at alkylating conditions in an alkylation zone in the presence of a solid catalyst, said solid catalyst having been prepared by dispersing a clay in a metallic pillaring agent sol, separating the resultant pillared clay, washing and drying said pillared clay, forming a dough of said pillared clay and a binder compound, extruding said dough and calcining the resulting extrudate. A specific embodiment of this invention is found in a process for production of an aromatic compound which comprises reacting benzene with an alkylating agent comprising a mixture of olefins containing from 2 to 20 and preferably from 9 to 15 carbon atoms in the chain at a temperature in the range of from 80° to 450° C and a pressure in the range of from 1482 to 7000 kPa (200 to 1000 psig) in the presence of a solid catalyst, said solid catalyst having been prepared by dispersing a clay comprising bentonite in a metallic pillaring agent sol comprising a solution of aluminum chlorohydrol, separating the pillared clay, washing said pillared clay and drying the clay, thereafter forming a dough by admixing said dried clay with a solution of alumina, extruding the dough, drying said dough, and calcining the dried extrudate to form the desired catalyst, and recovering said alkylated benzene. The catalytic composite of the present invention comprises a pillared clay which has been treated with a binder compound and extruded, following which the extrudate is dried and calcined to form the desired catalyst. One component of the catalyst of the present invention comprises a clay. Both natural and synthetic clays may be used including but not limited to bentonite, sepiolite, laponite™, vermiculite, montmorillonite, kaolin, palygorskite (attapulgus), hectorite, chlorite, beidellite, saponite and nontronite. Of the above clays laponite™ is a synthetic clay (manufacture by LaPorte Co.) and montmorillonite, hectorite, beidellite and saponite have synthetic analogs. The clays (both natural and synthetic analogs) may be used as they occur (or as synthesized) or they may be modified by exchanging with metals or introducing pillars between the layers to give pillared clays. Any of the clays, including all the ones enumerated above, may be exchanged with one or more metals selected from the group consisting of Fe⁺³, Cr⁺³, Al⁺³, Ti⁺⁴, and Zr⁺⁴. The clays into which pillars may be introduced are the smectite clays (natural and synthetic) which are hectorite, beidellite, laponite™, nontronite, saponite and montmorillonite. The above-mentioned clays may be pillared by any means known utilizing, as a metallic pillaring agent, in particular, the oxychlorides of aluminum, zirconium, lanthanum, cerium and titanium. It is to be understood that the aforementioned list of clays, both natural and synthetic in nature, as well as metallic pillaring agents are only representative of the types of clays and agents which may be used in the present invention, and that the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. After pillaring the clay by dispersing the clay in a solution of the pillaring agent, the resultant pillared clay is separated from the mother liquor, water washed to remove any excess metallic salt and dried. The dried pillared clay is then admixed with a binder compound which is selected from the group consisting of silica, alumina, titania, zirconia and aluminum phosphate. Said binder compound is present in an amount in the range of from 5% to 50% by weight of said pillared clay. The admixing of the pillared and binder compound is accomplished by adding the pillared clay to a paste of the binder compound to form a dough. The dough is then extruded through a die to obtain the desired particle shape and size of the catalyst following which it is then dried at a temperature of from ambient (20-25° C up to 150° C) for a period of time dependent upon the temperature which is employed and which may range from about one hour to about sixteen hours. Following the drying of the extrudate, it is then calcined in an air atmosphere or an air atmosphere which contains from one to about twenty percent steam at a temperature in the range of from 300° up to 800° C for a period of time which may range from about one to about twenty-four hours. The alkylation of aromatic compounds utilizing the catalytic composite of the present invention may be effected in any suitable manner utilizing either a batch type or a continuous type operation. The aromatic compounds which are treated with an alkylating agent may comprise either monocyclic or polycyclic compounds. In addition, the aromatic compounds may also contain substituents on the ring, examples of the aromatic compounds including benzene, toluene, o-xylene, m-xylene, p-xylene, ethylbenzene, naphthalene, isomeric methyl naphthalenes, isomeric ethyl naphthalenes, anthracene, chrysene, pyrene, etc. Alkylating agents which are utilized as the second component in the process will comprise olefins containing from 2 to 20 carbon atoms, alkyl halides, alcohols, etc. Some specific examples of these alkylating agents will include ethylene, propylene, the isomeric butenes, pentenes, hexenes, heptenes, octenes, nonenes, decenes, undecenes, dodecenes, tridecenes, tetradecenes, pentadecenes, hexadecenes, heptadecenes, octadecenes, nonadecenes, eicosenes, etc., methyl chloride, ethyl chloride, propyl chloride, butyl chloride, hexyl chloride, octyl chloride, decyl chloride, dodecyl chloride, tetradecyl chloride, methyl bromide, ethyl bromide, propyl bromide, butyl bromide, heptyl bromide, nonyl bromide, undecyl bromide, etc., methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, propyl alcohol, isopropryl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, sec-butyl alcohol, etc. In addition, it is also contemplated that mixtures of olefins may also be employed as alkylating agents. The alkylation reaction may be effected in a batch type operation by placing the aromatic compound and the alkylating agent in an appropriate apparatus such as an autoclave of the rotating or mixing type along with the catalytic composite. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the alkyl aromatic compound is present in the reaction mixture in an excess of alkylating agent, preferably in a range of from 2:1 to 20:1 moles of aromatic compound per mole of alkylating agent. The reactor is sealed and heated to the desired operating temperature which may be in a range of from 80° to 450° C. In addition, in order to preferably effect the reaction in a liquid phase pressure is added to maintain an operating pressure in the range of from 1482 to 7000 kPa (200 to 1000 psig). The operating pressure which is employed may be provided for by the introduction of an inert gas such as nitrogen, helium, argon, etc. when the alkylating agent is in liquid form. Conversely, if the alkylating agent which is employed is in gaseous form a portion of the operating pressure may be afforded by the autogenous pressure of the gaseous alkylating agent while the remainder is afforded by the presence of an inert gas. Upon completion of the reaction time which may range from about 0.5 up to about 4 hours or more in duration, heating is discontinued and after the reactor and contents thereof have returned to room temperature excess pressure is vented, the autoclave is opened and the reaction mixture is recovered therefrom. The desired alkyl aromatic compound may then be separated from any unreacted starting materials by conventional means such as fractional distillation and recovered. When the alkylation reaction of the present invention is effected in a continuous manner a quantity of the catalytic composite is placed in a reactor which may be tubular in configuration. The reactor is heated to the desired operating temperature and brought up to the desired operating pressure, following which the reactants comprising the aromatic compound and the alkylating agent are continuously passed over the catalyst bed at a liquid hourly space velocity of 0.25 to 2 hr.⁻¹ or more. After passage through the catalyst bed for a predetermined period of time the reactor effluent is continuously withdrawn and subjected to conventional separation means whereby the desired alkyl aromatic product is separated and recovered while any unreacted starting materials may be recycled to the reactor to form a portion of the feedstock. Inasmuch as the catalytic composite of the present invention is solid in nature, various types of continuous operation may be employed. For example, the catalyst may be maintained in the reactor as a fixed bed while the aromatic compound and alkylating agent are passed through the bed in either an upward or downward flow. Alternatively, a moving bed type of operation may be employed in which the catalyst bed and the reactants are passed through the reactor either concurrently or countercurrently to each other. Likewise, a slurry type operation may be employed in which the catalyst is carried into the reactor as a slurry in one or both of the reactants. The following examples which are given for purposes of illustrating the catalyst and the process of the present invention. EXAMPLE I A pillaring agent was prepared by diluting a 50 percent solution of aluminum chlorohydrol with sufficient water to form a 0.484 mol solution. The solution was then digested for a period three hours at a temperature of 95° C to form the desired pillaring agent. Following this a bentonite clay was dispersed in the pillaring agent for a period of two hours at a temperature of about 65° C. The amount of clay utilized was that which was sufficient to satisfy an aluminum/clay ratio of 7.0 millimol of aluminum per gram of anhydrous clay. The clay, after being pillared with the aluminum compound, was separated from the mother liquor and thereafter thoroughly washed with water to remove any excess aluminum sol and to reduce the chlorine level in the pillared clay. Thereafter the pillared clay cake was dried at a temperature of about 100°C in thin sheets to avoid particulate agglomeration. The catalyst of the invention was then prepared by wetting 200 grams of alumina with 800 grams of deionized water and admixed in a thorough manner. Thereafter 29.1 cm³ of nitric acid was slowly added with thorough admixing. Thereafter 800 grams of the pillared clay which had been prepared according to the above paragraph was added to the alumina mixture with thorough admixing of the compounds. The resulting dough was extruded through a die to form a 0.8 mm (1/32 inch) diameter extrudate. These extrudates were then dried at a temperature ranging between 110 and 150°C for a period of about 16 hours following which the extrudates were calcined in a flowing air atmosphere by placing the extrudates in an oven, raising the temperature to 400°C during a period of two hours and holding at this 400°C temperature for an additional period of two hours. Following this the extrudates were recovered and designated as catalyst A. For comparison purposes, the extrudates were washed and sized over a 10 to 40 mesh (0.4 to 2 mm) range for testing. EXAMPLE II A second catalyst (not of the invention) for comparative purposes was prepared by pillaring a bentonite clay in a manner similar to that set forth in the Example I above, that is, a solution of aluminum chlorohydrol was diluted with water and allowed to digest for a period of three hours at a temperature of 95°C to form the pillaring agent. Following this the bentonite clay was dispersed in the pillaring agent, said dispersion being maintained for a period of two hours at a temperature of about 65°C. The clay, after being pillared with the aluminum solution, was separated from the mother liquor, dried to form a filter cake and calcined at a temperature of 400°C for a period of two hours. The pillared clay was then sized to 0.4 to 2 mm mesh for testing purposes. This catalyst was designated as Catalyst B. EXAMPLE III A third catalyst not of the invention which was used for comparison purposes comprised a clay known in the trade as Filtrol 24 which is a montmorillonite type of clay. This catalyst was designated as Catalyst C. EXAMPLE IV The three catalysts of Examples I through III were utilized in an alkylation reaction by placing 25 cm³ of each catalyst in tubular stainless steel reactors having an inside diameter of 12.7 mm (1/2 inch). A feedstock comprising a mixture of benzene and an alkylating agent consisting of a mixture of olefins containing from ten to fourteen carbon atoms in a benzene/olefin feed molar ratio of 8:1 was charged to the reactor at a liquid hourly space velocity of 2 hours⁻¹. The reactor was maintained at a temperature of 150 degrees C under a pressure of 3550 kPa (500 psig). The product which was recovered from the reactor was analyzed to determine the percent of olefin conversion, the percent of detergent alkylate selectivity and the percent of linearity. The results of these analyses are set forth in the Table below. Catalyst A B C Olefin Conversion % 100 100 100 Detergent Alkylate Selectivity wt.% 88 84 79 Linearity % 93 92 92 It will be noted from the above table that the detergent alkylate selectivity which may be defined as the weight of total monoalkyl benzenes divided by the total weight of all products including dialkyl benzenes, olefinic oligomers and monoalkyl benzenes is greater in all instances where the catalyst of the present invention comprises a pillared clay admixed with a binder as compared to the catalysts which do not contain the binder. This, therefore, clearly indicates that the presence of the binder in conjunction with the pillared clay results in the obtainment of a greater amount of desired product comprising monoalkyl benzene which may then be used as an intermediate in the preparation of biodegradable detergents.

Claims: Claims for the following Contracting States : BE, DE, FR, GB, IT, NL A process for the production of an alkylaromatic compound which comprises reacting an aromatic compound with an alkylating agent selected from the group consisting of olefins, alkyl halides and alkyl alcohols at alkylating conditions in an alkylation zone in the presence of a solid catalyst comprising a pillared clay and a binder selected from the group consisting of alumina, silica, titania, zirconia and aluminium phosphate, said binder compound being present in an amount in the range of from 5% to 50% by weight of said pillared clay, said catalyst having been prepared by dispersing a clay in a metallic pillaring agent sol, separating the resultant pillared clay, washing and drying said pillared clay, forming a dough of said pillared clay and a binder compound, extruding said dough and calcining the resulting extrudate. The process of Claim 1 in which said alkylation conditions include a temperature in the range of from 80° to 450° C and a pressure in the range of from 1482 to 7000 kPa. The process of Claim 1 or 2 in which said alkylating agent contains from 1 to 20 carbon atoms. The process of Claim 1, 2 or 3 in which said alkylating agent contains from 9 to 15 carbon atoms. The process of any one of Claims 1 to 4 in which said aromatic compound is benzene or toluene or napthalene. The process of any one of Claims 1 to 5 in which said clay is selected from the group consisting of bentonite, vermiculite, montmorillonite, kaolin, sepiolite, polygorskite, hectorite, chlorite, beidellite, saponite, nontronite and mixtures thereof and said metallic pillaring agent is selected from the group consisting of oxychlorides of aluminum, zirconium, lanthanum, cerium and titanium. An alkylation catalyst comprising a pillared clay and a binder selected from the group consisting of alumina, silica, titania, zirconia and aluminium phosphate, said binder compound being present in an amount in the range of 5% to 50% by weight of said pillared clay, said catalyst being prepared by dispersing a clay in a metallic pillaring agent sol, separating the resultant pillared clay, washing and drying said pillared clay, forming a dough of said pillared clay and a binder compound, extruding said dough and calcining the resulting extrudate. Claims for the following Contracting State : ES A process for the production of an alkylaromatic compound which comprises reacting an aromatic compound with an alkylating agent selected from the group consisting of olefins, alkyl halides and alkyl alcohols at alkylating conditions in an alkylation zone in the presence of a solid catalyst comprising a pillared clay and a binder selected from the group consisting of alumina, silica, titania, zirconia and aluminium phosphate, said binder compound being present in an amount in the range of from 5% to 50% by weight of said pillared clay, said catalyst having been prepared by dispersing a clay in a metallic pillaring agent sol, separating the resultant pillared clay, washing and drying said pillared clay, forming a dough of said pillared clay and a binder compound, extruding said dough and calcining the resulting extrudate. The process of Claim 1 in which said alkylation conditions include a temperature in the range of from 80° to 450° C and a pressure in the range of from 1482 to 7000 kPa. The process of Claim 1 or 2 in which said alkylating agent contains from 1 to 20 carbon atoms. The process of Claim 1, 2 or 3 in which said alkylating agent contains from 9 to 15 carbon atoms. The process of any one of Claims 1 to 4 in which said aromatic compound is benzene or toluene or napthalene. The process of any one of Claims 1 to 5 in which said clay is selected from the group consisting of bentonite, vermiculite, montmorillonite, kaolin, sepiolite, polygorskite, hectorite, chlorite, beidellite, saponite, nontronite and mixtures thereof and said metallic pillaring agent is selected from the group consisting of oxychlorides of aluminum, zirconium, lanthanum, cerium and titanium. A process for the preparation of an alkylation catalyst comprising a pillared clay and a binder selected from the group consisting of alumina, silica, titania, zirconia and aluminium phosphate, said binder compound being present in an amount in the range of 5% to 50% by weight of said pillared clay, which comprises dispersing a clay in a metallic pillaring agent sol, separating the resultant pillared clay, washing and drying said pillared clay, forming a dough of said pillared clay and a binder compound, extruding said dough and calcining the resulting extrudate.

Inventors: KOCAL JOSEPH A, KOCAL, JOSEPH A.
Applicants: UOP INC, UOP
Application year: 1991
Main classification: C07C2
IPC codes: B01J37, B01J29, C07C15, C07C2, B01J21