Patent ID: 8436222

Claim:
A process for the alkylation of methylbenzene comprising: pretreating a phosphorus-modified zeolite catalyst by contacting the catalyst with alkylation process reactants for at least two hours at process conditions to produce an alkylated aromatic product, and subsequently contacting the catalyst with a gaseous stream comprising oxygen at a temperature and for a time until there is no oxygen consumption; contacting the pretreated catalyst with alkylation process reactants at process conditions to produce an alkylated aromatic product; and recovering the alkylated aromatic product; wherein the alkylation process reactants comprise methylbenzene and methanol; and wherein the phosphorus-modified zeolite catalyst comprises a zeolite selected from the group consisting of ZSM-4, Zeolite Beta, Mordenite, MCM-22, and combinations and mixtures thereof.