Exxonmobil Chemical Patents Inc.

Travis A Reine

Jihad Mohammed Dakka

Bryan A Patel

Keith Holroyd Kuechler

Christopher Lynn Becker

Charles Morris Smith

Francisco Manuel Benitez

Kun Wang

Terry Eugene Helton

Tan-Jen Chen

Gabor Kiss

Jane C Cheng

Jon E Stanat

Jason D Davis

Hari Nair

Roberto Garcia

Alex E Carpenter

Stephen Wayne Beadle

Zsigmond Varga

Dries Timmermans

Edwin Kooke

Thomas Wesselmann

Hans Goris

Byron Sevin

In a process for producing phenol and cyclohexanone, a cleavage feed containing greater than 40 wt % and no greater than 95 wt % cyclohexyl-1-phenyl-1-hydroperoxide, and at least 5 wt % and less than 60 wt % cyclohexylbenzene is mixed with at least phenol, cyclohexanone, water, and sulfuric acid to produce a cleavage reaction mixture containing from 15 wt % to 50 wt % phenol, from 15 wt % to 50 wt % cyclohexanone, from 1 wt % to 10 wt % cyclohexyl-1-phenyl-1-hydroperoxide, from 5 wt % to 60 wt % cyclohexylbenzene, from 0.1 wt % to 4 wt % water, and from 10 wppm to 1000 wppm sulfuric acid. The cleavage reaction mixture is then reacted at a temperature from 30&#xb0; C. and to 70&#xb0; C., and a pressure of at least 1 atmosphere for a time sufficient to convert at least 50% of said cyclohexyl-1-phenyl-1-hydroperoxide in said cleavage reaction mixture and produce a cleavage effluent containing phenol and cyclohexanone.

Process for producing phenol

Method for concentrating an organic hydroperoxide mixture comprising a hydrocarbon and a hydroperoxide corresponding thereto comprises evaporating a first liquid mixture in a thin-film evaporation device followed by separation in a separation zone. Both the evaporation device and the separation zone operate at a low absolute pressure at a temperature lower than the thermal degradation temperature of the hydroperoxide to prevent thermal decomposition thereof. The process is particularly useful for concentrating an oxidation product made from the oxidation of cyclohexylbenzene.

Process for concentrating a mixture containing organic hydroperoxide

A process for oxidizing a first hydrocarbon to a corresponding first oxygenate by feeding a first feedstock comprising the first hydrocarbon into an oxidation reactor, contacting the reaction medium with a gas stream comprising Oin the oxidation reactor, and supplying a hydroperoxide additive to the oxidation reactor. By including the hydroperoxide additive in the reaction medium, foaming at and/or close to the beginning of the oxidation reaction can be significantly reduced.

Oxidation of hydrocarbons

The present invention relates to hydrogenation processes including: contacting a first composition with hydrogen under hydrogenation conditions, in the presence of an eggshell hydrogenation catalyst, wherein the first composition has: (i) greater than about 50 wt % of cyclohexylbenzene, the wt % based upon the total weight of the first composition; and (ii) greater than about 0.3 wt % of cyclohexenylbenzene, the wt % based upon the total weight of the first composition; and thereby obtaining a second composition having less cyclohexenylbenzene than the first composition. Other hydrogenation processes are also described.

Hydrogenation process

In a process for oxidizing cyclohexylbenzene, a composition comprising cyclohexylbenzene is contacted with oxygen in at least one oxidation zone under oxidation conditions sufficient to produce at least some (i) cyclohexylbenzene hydroperoxide; (ii) a first byproduct; and (iii) a second byproduct in an effluent. A ratio &#x3b2; is determined according to the following formula: 

Oxidation of cyclohexylbenzene

Disclosed is a process for the liquid phase hydrogenation of phthalates to cyclohexanoates. By using a reactor with a multiplicity of tubes, with a cooling fluid supplied to the outside of the tubes, shortcomings of traditional recycle mode fixed bed reactors can be overcome. Feed dilution can be avoided, resulting in much higher reaction rates.

Process for liquid phase hydrogenation of phthalates

A process for producing sec-butylbenzene comprises feeding reactants comprising benzene and a Colefin to a distillation column reactor having a first reaction zone containing an alkylation catalyst and a second distillation zone, which is located below said first reaction zone and which is substantially free of alkylation catalyst, wherein the ratio of the number of distillation stages in said first reaction zone to the number of distillation stages in said second distillation zone is less than 1:1. Concurrently in the distillation reactor, the reactants are contacted with the alkylation catalyst in the first reaction zone under conditions such that the Colefin reacts with the benzene to produce sec-butylbenzene and the sec-butylbenzene is fractioned from the unreacted Colefin. The sec-butylbenzene thereby passes as a liquid phase stream from the first reaction zone to the second distillation zone and the liquid phase steam is withdrawn from the distillation column reactor as bottoms.

Process for producing sec-butylbenzene

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Slidell, LA, United States of America

Travis A Reine