HYDROLYSIS OF SULFONATE IN HYDROCARBON SUBSTRATE AND RECOVERY OF CORRESPONDING SULFONIC ACID

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently perform hydrolysis and recovery of a sulfonate or sulfonic acid by hydrolyzing a sulfonate by bringing a hydrocarbon into contact with an aqueous phase containing an ammonium salt and recovering sulfonic acid by separating an aqueous phase from a hydrocarbon substrate. SOLUTION: In a method for hydrolyzing a sulfonate (e.g. fluorinated alkyl sulfonate, especially an ester of trifluoromethane sulfonic acid) in a hydrocarbon substrate by an aqueous extraction of a hydrocarbon substrate, sulfonic acid is recovered by bringing a hydrocarbon into contact with an aqueous phase containing an ammonium salt (preferably an alkylammonium salt especially a trialkyl or a tetraalkyl ammonium salt) and separating an aqueous phase from the hydrocarbon substrate by hydrolyzing the sulfonate to a corresponding sulfonic acid thereby. The method is especially useful for recovering fluorinated alkyl sulfonic acid from a flow discharged from an alkylation of acid-catalyzed hydrocarbon.