Patent ID: 8383874

Claim:
An isoparaffin/olefin alkylation process which comprises: introducing a liquid isoparaffin hydrocarbon reactant/refrigerant into a lower end of a generally cylindrical reactor vessel arranged with a substantially vertical longitudinal axis, introducing a sulfuric acid alkylation catalyst into the lower end of the reactor vessel, introducing an olefin reactant into a series of sequential reaction zones in the reactor vessel to form a reaction mixture of isoparaffin, olefin and sulfuric acid catalyst, the reaction zones being defined by co-acting baffles having, alternately along the length of the reactor vessel, central flow passages and peripheral flow passages for the reaction mixture to define an extended sinuous flowpath for the reaction mixture, the baffles defining the peripheral flow passages each comprising a horizontal plate extending horizontally between the walls of the reactor vessel and having chordal edges defining peripheral flow passages between the chordal edges and the walls of the reactor vessel, the baffles defining the central flow passages each comprising a plurality of plate segments extending horizontally at the walls of the reactor with a central flow passage defined by the chordal edges of the plate segments with a rotating driven mixer shaft along the central axis of the vessel having paddle blade impellers attached to the shaft in each of the sequential reaction zones providing mixing of the reaction mixture, passing the reaction mixture along the extended flow-path successively through each of the plurality of sequential reaction zones to react the isoparaffin reactant with the olefin reactant in an alkylation reaction, vaporizing a portion of the isoparaffin to effect temperature control in the reactor, and removing vaporized isoparaffin reactant refrigerant and alkylation reaction products at the upper end of the reactor vessel.