Catalyst Composition

Abstract

The present invention provides an improved catalyst and a method for its manufacture. The catalyst comprises an acidic, porous crystalline material and has a Proton Density Index of greater than about 1.0, for example from greater than 1.0 to about 2.0, e.g. from about 1.01 to about 1.85. This catalyst may be used to effect conversion in chemical reactions, and is particularly useful in a process for selectively producing a monoalkylated aromatic compound comprising the step of contacting an alkylatable aromatic compound with an alkylating agent under at least partial liquid phase conditions. The acidic, porous crystalline material of the catalyst may comprise an acidic, crystalline molecular sieve having the structure of zeolite Beta, an MWW structure type material, e.g. MCM-22, MCM-36, MCM-49 MCM-56, or a mixture thereof.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This is a U.S. national stage application under 35 U.S.C. 371 of International Application PCT / US2006 / 017733 having an international filing date of 8 May 2006. The above application is fully incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to an improved catalyst composition. The catalyst may be used to effect various chemical conversions, and is particularly valuable for use in a process for producing alkylaromatics, particularly ethylbenzene and cumene, or for use in a process for oligomerization of olefins, particularly for production of dimers, trimers and tetramers of olefins, e.g. ethylene, propylene, butylene, or mixtures thereof.[0003]Ethylbenzene and cumene are valuable commodity chemicals that are used industrially for the production of styrene monomer and coproduction of phenol and acetone respectively. Ethylbenzene may be produced by a number of different chemical processes but on...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided an improved catalyst. This catalyst may be used to effect conversion in chemical reactions, and is particularly useful in a process for selectively producing a desired monoalkylated aromatic compound comprising the step of contacting an alkylatable aromatic compound with an alkylating agent in the presence of the present catalyst under at least partial liquid phase conditions, said catalyst comprising an acidic, porous crystalline material and having a PDI of greater than 1.0, for example, from greater than 1.0 to about 2.0, e.g. from about 1.01 to about 1.85. Another aspect of the present invention is an improved alkylation catalyst for use in a process for the selective production of monoalkyl benzene comprising the step of reacting benzene with an alkylating agent under alkylation conditions in the presence of said alkylation catalyst which comprises an acidic, porous crystalline material and having a PDI of greater than 1.0, for example, from greater than 1.0 to about 2.0, e.g. from about 1.01 to about 1.85. The catalyst may comprise, for example, an acidic, crystalline molecular sieve having the structure of zeolite Beta, or one having an X-ray diffraction pattern including d-spacing maxima at 12.4±0.25, 6.9±0.15, 3.57±0.07 and 3.42±0.07 Angstroms, said catalyst having a PDI of greater than 1.0, for example, from greater than 1.0 to about 2.0, e.g. from about 1.01 to about 1.85. More particularly, the catalyst may comprise an acidic, crystalline molecular sieve having the structure of zeolite Beta, an MWW structure type material, e.g. MCM-22, or a mixture thereof.

Problems solved by technology

More recently focus has been directed at liquid phase processes for producing ethylbenzene from benzene and ethylene since liquid phase processes operate at a lower temperature than their vapor phase counterparts and hence tend to result in lower yields of by-products.

This has proved to be a significant problem in the case of cumene production where existing catalysts have either lacked the desired activity or have resulted in the production of significant quantities of by-products such as ethylbenzene and n-propylbenzene.

This obviates or reduces the demand in many instances for the difficult transalkylation reaction for conversion of unwanted bulky polyalkylated species.

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