Patent ID: 7312365

Claim:
A process for cleaving one or more hydroperoxides selected from the group consisting of s-butylbenzene hydroperoxide, cumene hydroperoxide, and combinations thereof, the process comprising: feeding a cleavage reaction feed to a cleavage reactor to produce a cleavage reaction mixture comprising the one or more hydroperoxides wherein the first cleavage reactor comprises a pipeline loop reactor comprising one or more heat exchangers effective to maintain the cleavage reaction mixture at a first cleavage reaction temperature; and subjecting the cleavage reaction mixture to cleavage reaction conditions effective to produce a cleavage reaction product comprising phenol and one or more components selected from the group consisting of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), acetone, and combinations thereof; wherein the cleavage reaction conditions comprise a cleavage reaction temperature of less than 75° C. which is sufficiently high to cleave a majority of the one or more hydroperoxides but sufficiently low to produce a first quantity of non-recoverable byproducts from components selected from the group consisting of dimethylbenzyl alcohol (DMBA), ethyl methyl benzyl carbinol (EMBA), and combinations thereof, the first quantity of said non-recoverable byproducts being less than a second quantity of said non-recoverable byproducts produced by the same process at a cleavage reaction temperature of 75° C. or higher.