Patent ID: 8071829

Claim:
A process for alkylating aromatics comprising: (a) charging a hydrocarbon feed, comprising aromatic hydrocarbons having from six to seven carbon atoms per molecule and olefinic hydrocarbons having from five to six carbon atoms per molecule, to a distillation column for separation into at least one fraction; (b) removing an aromatics/olefin stream comprising at least a portion of said aromatic hydrocarbons and at least a portion of said olefinic hydrocarbons from said distillation column; (c) charging said aromatics/olefin stream to an alkylation reactor, operated at a temperature in the range of from about 80Â° C. to about 220Â° C., for alkylation of at least a portion of said aromatic hydrocarbons with said olefinic hydrocarbons, thereby resulting in a reactor effluent comprising: 1) reaction products comprising aromatics having from ten to sixteen carbon atoms per molecule, and 2) unreacted hydrocarbons comprising at least a portion of said aromatic hydrocarbons and at least a portion of said olefinic hydrocarbons; (d) recycling, as a recycle stream, at least a portion of said reactor effluent to said distillation column; and (e) removing, from said distillation column, a product stream comprising at least a portion of said reaction products.