Cumene Process Final Considerations

Since 1952, the cumene process has been improved to a fairly impressive extent as its yields to acetone and phenol, based on both benzene and propene, are currently close to the stoichiometric ones. Nor are there problems in building huge plants 300 0001 yr capacity is a common size, while still having a quite reduced environmental impact. Thus, although some precautions are needed to ensure safe operations, the process is fully satisfactory in many aspects. 

Some improvements, in terms of reduction of energy consumption, could be attained by increasing the benzene conversion per pass in the alkylation and 

Any addition of phenol capacities adds a further unbalance on the acetone side. 

Friedel-Crafts alkylation with 2-propanol is also possible [4], without the need of the dehydration step, whose energy requirement accounts for the most part of the overall energy balance for the acetone into propene transformation. 

As the recycle of acetone to benzene alkylation to cumene leads to a corresponding saving in propylene, its profitability depends on the acetone to propene sale prices ratio. 

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