Patent ID: 7495144

Claim:
An alkylation process comprising contacting a hydrocarbon mixture comprising at least one olefin having from 2 to 6 carbon atoms and at least one isoparaffin having from 3 to 6 carbon atoms under alkylation conditions including an isopentane to olefin molar ratio of from 2 to 8, in the presence of an acidic ionic liquid catalyst in an alkylation zone, said catalyst comprising a mixture of at least one acidic ionic liquid and at least one alkyl halide; wherein the at least one olefin and the at least one isoparaffin are alkylated; and where the acidic ionic liquid is a chloroaluminate ionic liquid prepared by mixing aluminum trichloride (AlCl 3 ) and a hydrocarbyl substituted pyridinium halide, a hydrocarbyl substituted imidazolium halide, trialkylammonium hydrohalide or tetraalkylammonium halide of the general formulas A, B, C and D, respectively, where R=H, methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl or hexyl group and X is a halide, and R 1 and R 2 =H, methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl or hexyl group and where R 1 and R 2 may or may not be the same, and R 3 , R 4 , and R 5 and R 6 =methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl or hexyl group and where R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 may or may not be the same.