Patent ID: 7868219

Claim:
A process for producing an ethylbenzene product having a purity of at least 99.50 percent based on the weight of ethylbenzene present in the product using a hydrocarbon composition that has not undergone extraction, said process comprising: (a) providing a reformate that comprises: (i) C 5 − hydrocarbons; (ii) benzene; (iii) C 7 + aromatic hydrocarbons; and (iv) from about 1 to about 75 percent by weight based on the weight of the reformate of at least one C 6 + non-aromatic hydrocarbon having a boiling point within 10° C. at a pressure of about 101.3 kPa-a of the boiling point of benzene; (b) removing C 4 − hydrocarbons and the C 7 + aromatic hydrocarbons from the reformate by distillation to form a hydrocarbon composition, wherein said hydrocarbon composition contains C5 hydrocarbons, benzene from about 1 to about 75 percent by weight based on the weight of the reformate of at least one C 6 + non-aromatic hydrocarbon having a boiling point within 10° C. at a pressure of about 101.3 kPa-a of the boiling point of benzene and substantially free of C 4 − hydrocarbons and C 7 + aromatic hydrocarbons; (c) alkylating the benzene present in the hydrocarbon composition without extraction of the hydrocarbon composition with ethylene in the liquid phase with a catalyst comprising a zeolite beta molecular sieve at conditions that include a temperature in the range of from about 176° C. to about 204° C., a pressure from about 0.79 to about 6.995 MPa-a sufficient to maintain the benzene in the liquid phase, a mole ratio of ethylene to benzene in the range of from about 0.75:1 to about 0.5:1, and a WHSV based on total ethylene over total catalyst for overall reactor in the range of from about 0.1 to about 10 hr 1 to produce a product; and (d) distilling the product of step (c) to produce an ethylbenzene product having a purity of at least 99.50 percent based on the weight of ethylbenzene present in the product.