PROCESS FOR THE RECOVERY OF HIGH-PURITY M-ETHYLPHENOL

摘要

A meritorious, commercially successful process for the recovery of a high-purity m-ethylphenol from ethylphenol mixtures containing m- and p-ethylphenols as the major components is disclosed. As it is well known in the art, the ethylphenol mixtures containing m- and p-ethylphenols as the major components can easily be prepared by ethylation of phenol with ethylene or ethanol by a simple operation. Accordingly, a process for the recovery of high-purity m-ethylphenol from ethylphenol mixtures containing m- and p-ethylphenols as the major components can give great influences in the commercial production of high-purity m-ethylphenol. m-Ethylphenol is a useful intermediate for the production of pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals. The process comprises simply contacting an ethylphenol mixture containing m- and p-ethylphenols as the major components with a specific crystalline aluminosilicate catalyst under heating.