Hydrofluoric acid catalyst

HF alkylation an alkylation process whereby olefins (C3, C4, C5) are combined with isobutane in the presence of hydrofluoric acid catalyst. 

The early experimental work showed that the alkylation reactions could be carried out thermally and by using hydrofluoric acid or aluminum chloride as catalysts. Successful processes were developed with the hydrofluoric acid catalyst, and the first commercial HF unit started up on Christmas Day 1942, having a capacity of 1950 BPD (3). Other commercial HF alkylation units followed quickly. The thermal and aluminum chloride-catalyzed alkylation processes had limited commercial acceptance. 

In the production of aviation and motor alkylates, both propylene and amylenes are inferior feed stocks when compared with the butylenes. These feeds produce lighter and heavier alkylates, respectively, than the butylenes, both alkylates having a lower octane than the trimethylpentane produced from butylenes. Also, acid consumption when sulfuric acid catalyst is used is two or more times as great with propylene or amylenes than with butylenes. Hydrofluoric acid catalyst, on the other hand, is not consumed at a higher rate on propylene and amylene feeds but does make a higher percentage of tar. 

Propylene Reactions. The following reaction mechanisms are generally 7ecognTzeTM tlTeprinci pa I ones occurring in propylene-isobutane alkylation with hydrofluoric acid catalyst (Ciapetta, 1945). In pnirenthe-ses are shown amounts of oroducts from each mechanism these are from Table VII for propylene ... 

The first commercial process using an ionic liquid catalyst was introduced by Petro-China in 2008, when they opened a plant producing 65,000 tons peryear of alkylate gasoline from isobutane. The aluminum-based ionic liquid catalyst replaced the sulfuric acid and hydrofluoric acid catalysts that had previously been used. 

A freshly made solution behaves as a strong monobasic acid. Neutralized solutions slowly become acidic because of hydrolysis to monofluorophosphoric acid and hydrofluoric acid. The anhydrous acid undergoes slow decomposition on distillation at atmospheric pressure, reacts with alcohols to give monofluorophosphoric acid esters, and is an alkylation (qv) and a polymerization catalyst. 

Fluorosulfuric acid [7789-21-17, HSO F, is a colodess-to-light yellow liquid that fumes strongly in moist air and has a sharp odor. It may be regarded as a mixed anhydride of sulfuric and hydrofluoric acids. Fluorosulfuric acid was first identified and characterized in 1892 (1). It is a strong acid and is employed as a catalyst and chemical reagent in a number of chemical processes, such as alkylation (qv), acylation, polymerization, sulfonation, isomerization, and production of organic fluorosulfates (see Friedel-CRAFTSreactions). 

Acid mixtures containing nitric acid and a strong acid, eg, sulfuric acid, perchloric acid, selenic acid, hydrofluoric acid, boron trifluoride, or an ion-exchange resin containing sulfonic acid groups, can be used as the nitrating feedstock for ionic nitrations. These strong acids are catalysts that result in the formation of nitronium ions, NO" 2- Sulfuric acid is almost always used industrially since it is both effective and relatively inexpensive. 

Propylene, butylenes, or amylenes are combiaed with isobutane ia the presence of an acid catalyst, eg, sulfuric acid or hydrofluoric acid, at low temperatures (1—40°C) and pressures, 102—1035 kPa (1—10 atm). Sulfuric acid or hydrogen fluoride are the catalysts used commercially ia refineries. The acid is pumped through the reactor and forms an emulsion with reactants, and the emulsion is maintained at 50% acid. The rate of deactivation varies with the feed and isobutane charge rate. Butene feeds cause less acid consumption than the propylene feeds. 

The catalysts used in the industrial alkylation processes are strong Hquid acids, either sulfuric acid [7664-93-9] (H2SO or hydrofluoric acid [7664-39-3] (HE). Other strong acids have been shown to be capable of alkylation in the laboratory but have not been used commercially. Aluminum chloride [7446-70-0] (AlCl ) is suitable for the alkylation of isobutane with ethylene (12). Super acids, such as trifluoromethanesulfonic acid [1493-13-6] also produce alkylate (13). SoHd strong acid catalysts, such as Y-type zeoHte or BE -promoted acidic ion-exchange resin, have also been investigated (14—16). 

Aqueous hydrofluoric acid dissolved in acetonitrile is a good catalyst for intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions [9] This reagent promotes highly stereoselective cyclizations of different triene esters (equation 8) The use of other acids, such as hydrochloric, acetic, and trifluoroacetic acid, results in complete polymerization of the starting trienes [9] (equation 8)... 

Either concentrated sulfuric acid or anhydrous hydrofluoric acid is used as a catalyst for the alkylation reaction. These acid catalysts are capable of providing a proton, which reacts with the olefin to form a carbocation. For example, when propene is used with isohutane, a mixture of C5 isomers is produced. The following represents the reaction steps ... 

Both sulfuric acid and hydrofluoric acid catalyzed alkylations are low temperature processes. Table 3-13 gives the alkylation conditions for HF and H2SO4 processes. One drawback of using H2SO4 and HF in alkylation is the hazards associated with it. Many attempts have been tried to use solid catalysts such as zeolites, alumina and ion exchange resins. Also strong solid acids such as sulfated zirconia and SbFs/sulfonic acid resins were tried. Although they were active, nevertheless they lack stability. No process yet proved successful due to the fast deactivation of the catalyst. A new process which may have commercial possibility, uses... 

Commercial alkylation is the reaction of isobutane with C3 through Cg olefins in the presence of either sulfuric acid or hydrofluoric acid (see Example 10-1). Etherification is the reaction of a tertiary olefin with an alcohol or water in the presence of an acidic catalyst (see Example 10-2). 

In 1950 the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis was banned in Germany by the allied forces. Sinarol, a high paraffinic kerosene fraction sold by Shell, was used as a substitute. This ban coincided with the rapid development of the European petrochemical industry, and in due time Fischer-Tropsch synthesis applied to the production of paraffins became uneconomic anyway. After the war there was a steady worldwide increase in the demand for surfactants. In order to continually meet the demand for synthetic detergents, the industry was compelled to find a substitute for /z-paraffin. This was achieved by the oligomerization of the propene part of raffinate gases with phosphoric acid catalyst at 200°C and about 20 bars pressure to produce tetrapropene. Tetrapropene was inexpensive, comprising a defined C cut and an olefinic double bond. Instead of the Lewis acid, aluminum chloride, hydrofluoric acid could now be used as a considerably milder, more economical, and easier-to-handle alkylation catalyst [4],... 

The alkylation proceeds with aluminum chloride or hydrofluoric acid as catalyst, by which the importance of aluminum chloride diminishes. Today approximately 70% of all manufacturers use the HF process [4]. In addition, LAB is produced by the alkylation of secondary chloroparaffins (Wibarco in Germany) and by the alkylation of olefins (EniChem Augusta in Italy) over an aluminum chloride catalyst [12]. 

The LAB production process (process 1) is mainly developed and licensed by UOP. The N-paraffins are partially converted to internal /z-olefins by a catalytic dehydrogenation. The resulting mixture of /z-paraffins and n-olefins is selectively hydrogenated to reduce diolefins and then fed into an alkylation reactor, together with an excess benzene and with concentrated hydrofluoric acid (HF) which acts as the catalyst in a Friedel-Crafts reaction. In successive sections of the plant the HF, benzene, and unconverted /z-paraffins are recovered and recycled to the previous reaction stages. In the final stage of distillation, the LAB is separated from the heavy alkylates. 

Traditionally, the production of LABs has been practiced commercially using either Lewis acid catalysts, or liquid hydrofluoric acid (HF).2 The HF catalysis typically gives 2-phenylalkane selectivities of only 17-18%. More recently, UOP/CEPSA have announced the DetalR process for LAB production that is reported to employ a solid acid catalyst.3 Within the same time frame, a number of papers and patents have been published describing LAB synthesis using a range of solid acid (sterically constrained) catalysts, including acidic clays,4 sulfated oxides,5 plus a variety of acidic zeolite structures.6"9 Many of these solid acids provide improved 2-phenylalkane selectivities. 

Alkad A process for improving the safety of alkylation processes using hydrofluoric acid as the catalyst. A proprietary additive curtails the emission of the acid aerosol that forms in the event of a leak. Based on observation of G. Olah in the early 1990s that liquid polyhydrogen fluoride complexes (of amines such as pyridine) depress the vapor pressure of HF above alkylation mixtures. Developed by UOP and Texaco and operated at Texaco s refinery at El Dorado, TX, since 1994. A competing process is ReVAP, developed by Phillips and Mobil. 

Bergius-Pier An improved version of the Bergius (1) process in which the activity of the catalyst was increased by treatment with hydrofluoric acid. Invented by H. Pier and others in the 1930s and used in Germany during World War II. 

Since the discovery of alkylation, the elucidation of its mechanism has attracted great interest. The early findings are associated with Schmerling (17-19), who successfully applied a carbenium ion mechanism with a set of consecutive and simultaneous reaction steps to describe the observed reaction kinetics. Later, most of the mechanistic information about sulfuric acid-catalyzed processes was provided by Albright. Much less information is available about hydrofluoric acid as catalyst. In the following, a consolidated view of the alkylation mechanism is presented. Similarities and dissimilarities between zeolites as representatives of solid acid alkylation catalysts and HF and H2S04 as liquid catalysts are highlighted. Experimental results are compared with quantum-chemical calculations of the individual reaction steps in various media. 

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