Patent GB-763031-A (GB)
Title: An improved process for producing oil-soluble sulphonated hydrocarbons
IPC: C07C309/62
Filed: 1954-08-09
Abstract: A process for the production of a mixture of hydrocarbon sulphonic acids comprises adding a petroleum oil to a mixture of an alkylated aryl hydrocarbon sulphonic acid having at least one alkyl substituent containing at least 8 carbon atoms and a sulphonating agent, the sulphonating agent being present in a concentration at least sufficient to sulphonate the petroleum oil, and heating the resulting mixture.  Sulphonation temperatures of 40 DEG  to 60 DEG  C. are preferred.  Preferably a mixture of alkylated aryl sulphonic acid and sulphonating agent is produced by sulphonation of the alkyl aromatic hydrocarbon with excess sulphonating agent, the petroleum oil is added to the reaction mixture and, after sulphonation of the latter, water is added to reduce the concentration of residual sulphonating agent. Aromatic residues in the alkylaryl sulphonic acids may be phenyl, tolyl, ethylphenyl, cumyl, isobutylphenyl, tert.-butylphenyl, xylyl, cymyl, diphenylyl, indenyl and naphthyl.  Preferred long chain alkyl residues are wax residues having a chain of 20 to 30 carbon atoms and especially preferred are aromatic hydrocarbons substituted by two such residues.  An excess of petroleum oil is also preferably employed.  Usually 1.2 to 1.3 mols. of sulphonating agent is reacted per mol. of the alkylated aryl hydrocarbon and to the mixture 0.5 to 4 parts by weight of the petroleum oil to be sulphonated are added for each part of alkylated aryl hydrocarbon.  Water sufficient to reduce the sulphuric acid concentration to about 70-80 per cent is added in the last stage.  As starting material for the examples a diwax alkylated benzene is prepared by chlorinating a paraffin wax having an average of 23 carbon atoms in the molecule until its weight increases by 12 per cent and reacting the product with benzene in the presence of aluminium chloride.  In the examples the diwax-alkylated benzene is sulphonated at 45-55 DEG  C. with 25 per cent oleum.  The reaction product is then heated at 50 DEG  to 55 DEG  C. with (1) and (2) solvent refined Midcontinent oil; (3) East Texas Heavy Neutral Distillate Oil; and (4) East Texas Heavy Waxy Neutral Oil to effect sulphonation.  Water sufficient to bring the acid below sulphonating strength is then added and the petroleum oil solution of sulphonated hydrocarbon is recovered.  The products of Examples (1) and (2) are converted to their basic barium salts by reaction with barium hydroxide.  Comparison preparations illustrate the sulphonation of a mixture of the unsulphonated diwax-alkylated benzene and solvent-refined Midcontinent Oil and of the Midcontinent Oil alone, followed by conversion to barium salts of the sulphonates.ALSO:As detergent-dispersants for lubricating oil compositions there are prepared mixtures of hydrocarbon sulphonic acids by a process which comprises adding a petroleum oil to a mixture of an alkylated aryl hydrocarbon sulphonic acid having at least one alkyl substituent containing at least 8 carbon atoms and a sulphonating agent, said sulphonating agent being present in a concentration at least sufficient to sulphonate the petroleum oil, and heating the mixture. Preferably the alkyl groups in the alkyl aryl sulphonic acid are waxalkyl groups and two per molecule are present.  An example describes a composition of a mineral lubricating oil with an oxidation inhibitor and the basic borium salt of a sulphonated hydrocarbon mixture prepared by sulphonating a solvent refined midcontinent oil in the presence of a diwax-alkyl-benzene sulphonic acid and reacting the isolated product with barium hydroxide.  For comparison a composition containing lubricating oil, oxidation inhibitor and the basic borium salt of a sulphonated drivox-alkylated hydrocarbon is prepared.