The Upjohn Co.

Chandrakant A Patel

Adnan A Sayigh

Tae H Chung

A process is described for recovering phenylcyclohexane as principal product from dicyclohexylbenzenes by heating the latter in the presence of at least an equal amount by weight of benzene and an acid clay or zeolite catalyst at a temperature of 190.degree. - 400.degree.C. The period of heating is preferably controlled so that no significant cracking of the phenylcyclohexane is caused. The process is a useful adjunct to the known methods of production of phenylcyclohexane by hydrodimerization by benzene. The latter process gives significant amounts of dicyclohexylbenzenes as by-product. The present process enables this generally undesirable by-product to be converted to phenylcyclohexane thus increasing the overall yield of phenylcyclohexane from benzene in the hydrodimerization process.

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Wallingford, CT, United States of America

Chandrakant A Patel