Benzene → Cyclohexylbenzene

Participants

Reaction Steps

The C18 fraction from the distillation system 15 is rich in the PCHB by-product from the hydroalkylation reaction and is fed by line 16 to a cracking reactor 17, which optionally also receives benzene from line 18 and hydrogen from line 19. The PCHB by-product is dealkylated in the cracking reactor 17 to produce additional monocyclohexylbenzene product, together with cyclohexene and/or cyclohexane. The effluent from the cracking reactor 17 is then fed via line 21 back to the distillation system 15, where the additional monocyclohexylbenzene product is separated as part of the C12 fraction while the cyclohexene and/or cyclohexane are removed as part of the C6 fraction. Any unreacted PCHB in the effluent from the cracking reactor is removed as part of the C18 fraction and recycled to the dealkylation step. If desired part of the heavies, such as the C18 fraction, from the distillation system 15 can be purged via line 26 to avoid the build-up of unwanted by-products in the recycle loop 16, 21.

Provenance & Evidence