MANUFACTURE OF ETHYLBENZENE

摘要

Ethylbenzene is prepared by the reaction of ethylene and benzene in the presence of a Friedel-Crafts aluminum chloride catalyst complex, in a process in which the ethylene is initially dissolved in the benzene, prior to contacting with the catalyst. By eliminating the gaseous phase from the reaction it permits the use of a plug flow reactor. As a result, a process is obtained which proceeds in the kinetic region, using much smaller quantities of the Friedel-Crafts catalyst, to produce in short time the desired product, with significantly reduced amounts of byproducts.