Phenol → 4-Nonylphenol

Participants

Reaction Steps

A suspension of 190 parts of phenol, 152 parts of propylene trimer and 7 parts of ion exchange resin is prepared in a stirred reactor at 120° C. and 1 bar pressure, the mixture being stirred at 500 rpm. The ion exchange resin is a sulfonated styrene/divinylbenzene copolymer resin, which has been dehydrated under reduced pressure for 20 hours at 100° C. before being used; it has a gel structure and its particle size is from 20 to 150 micrometers. The suspension is then stirred constantly in the reactor at 500 rpm. After 6 hours, 12.1 parts of phenol and 9.8 parts of propylene trimer are introduced per hour at 120° C. and 1 bar pressure and correspondingly 21.9 parts per hour of suspension are filtered through a suction line equipped with a metal filter (pore diameter 10 micrometers) and are subjected to fractional distillation. After 200 hours' operation, 3,145 parts (92% of theory, based on starting material II) of 4-nonylphenol of boiling point 175°-180° C./27 millibars are obtained. The conversion is 57%, based on phenol employed, or 95% based on starting material II.

Provenance & Evidence