Benzene → Butylbenzene

Participants

Reaction Steps

Normal-butylbenzene is prepared by heating equal molar amounts of 1-chlorobutane and benzene in a molten urea-sulfuric acid component containing 42.6 weight percent urea and 75.4 weight percent sulfuric acid having a urea/sulfuric acid molar ratio of 1.2 at a temperature of 140° F. and a pressure of 100 psig. for a period of 10 minutes. The n-butylbenzene product is recovered by cooling the reaction mixture to solidify the urea-sulfuric acid component melt and extracting the resulting mixture with toluene. The n-butylbenzene product is removed from the toluene solvent by distilling the solvent, and the urea-sulfuric acid component is re-melted and recycled to the process.

Provenance & Evidence