Patent ID: 7405335

Claim:
An integrated process for the production of xylenes and highly pure benzene from aromatic feedstocks containing benzene co-boilers comprising: a. separating by fractionation a benzene and toluene-containing fraction from said feedstock, said fraction containing benzene co-boilers; b. subjecting said benzene and toluene-containing fraction to transalkylation conditions including the presence of C 9 and C 10 aromatics and a metal-stabilized transalkylation reaction catalyst to provide a transalkylation product stream having a greater concentration of toluene and C 8 aromatics; c. separating by fractionation from said transalkylation reaction product stream a lower boiling fraction comprising benzene and co-boilers and a higher boiling fraction comprising toluene and having a substantial absence of benzene co-boilers; d. recycling at least a portion of the lower boiling fraction from step c to step b sufficient to maintain a benzene to total aromatics mole ratio to step b at least about 0.2:1; e. subjecting at least a portion of the higher boiling fraction from step c to disproportionation conditions including the presence of a disproportionation catalyst to provide a disproportionation reaction product containing benzene, toluene, C 8 aromatics and less than about 100 ppm-mass-percent benzene co-boilers; and f. separating by fractionation from at least a portion of the disproportionation reaction product a lower boiling fraction comprising benzene and less than 2000 ppm-mass benzene co-boilers and a higher boiling fraction comprising C 8 aromatics.