Solid Acid-Catalyzed Processes

Liquid acid-catalyzed processes are mature technologies, which are not expected to undergo dramatic changes in the near future. Solid acid-catalyzed alkylation now has been developed to a point where the technology can compete with the existing processes. Catalyst regeneration by hydrogen treatment is the method of choice in all the process developments. Some of the process developments eliminate most if not all the drawbacks of the liquid acid processes. The verdict about whether solid acid-catalyzed processes will be applied in the near future will be determined primarily by economic issues. 

D. Baudry-Barbier studied the catalytic properties of Sc, La and Nd modified KIO clays in Friedel-Crafts acylations of anisole with benzoyl chloride for yielding 4-methoxybenzophenone, and found La modified KIO clay exhibited the best catalytic activity for acylations of anisole. In comparison with the acid catalyzed reactions using liquid acids, the solid acid catalyzed process was non-polluting and also the final work-up didn t require any aqueous treatment, which exhibited wide prospect for the clean synthesis of building block and fine chemicals [195]. 

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. 

Fig. 15. UOP Alkylene solid acid-catalyzed alkylation process (237).

The catalyst is reported to be a true solid acid without halogen ion addition. In the patent describing the process (239), a Pt/USY zeolite with an alumina binder is employed. It was claimed that the catalyst is rather insensitive to feed impurities and feedstock composition, so that feed pretreatment can be less stringent than in conventional liquid acid-catalyzed processes. The process is operated at temperatures of 323-363 K, so that the cooling requirements are less than those of lower temperature processes. The molar isobutane/alkene feed ratio is kept between 8 and 10. Alkene space velocities are not reported. Akzo claims that the alkylate quality is identical to or higher than that attained with the liquid acid-catalyzed processes. 

LURGI and Siid-Chemie AG are developing a solid acid-catalyzed alkylation process termed LURGI EUROFUEL . The reactor is derived from tray distillation towers. Isobutane and suspended catalyst enter at the top of the... 

Another example of a transannular cyclization that occurs in the solid state is provided by the epoxy alcohol 31. This compound is stable when dissolved in organic solvents and in 0.25N sulfuric acid. However, the crystals transform rapidly to 32. Although the process is accompanied by partial melting, it appears to be a true solid-state one. Interestingly, the reaction is slowed down appreciably when the dry crystals are covered with ether. Hydrogen bromide is eliminated in the reaction and it may be that an acid-catalyzed process is also occurring in the presence of solvent this process may be slowed down by the dissolution of the decomposition products in the solvent (77). 

In contrast with the widespread application of zeolites as solid acid catalysts (see earlier), their use as solid base catalysts received scant attention until fairly recently [121]. This is probably because acid-catalyzed processes are much more common in the oil refining and petrochemical industries. Nonetheless, basic zeolites and related mesoporous molecular sieves can catalyze a variety of reactions, such as Knoevenagel condensations and Michael additions, which are key steps in the manufacture of flavors and fragrances, pharmaceuticals and other specialty chemicals [121]. Indeed, the Knoevenagel reaction of benzaldehyde with ethyl cyanoacetate (Fig. 2.36) has become a standard test reaction for solid base catalysts [121]. 

ExSact Novel Solid-Acid Catalyzed Iso-Paraffin Alkylation Process... 

These solid-acid catalysts are, in principle, applicable to a plethora of acid-catalyzed processes in organic synthesis [18]. These include various electrophilic aromatic substitutions, e.g. nitrations, halogenations, and Fiiedel-Crafts alkylations and acylations, and numerous rearrangement reactions such as the Beckmann and Fries rearrangements. Other examples include a variety of cyclization reactions such as Diels-Alder reactions and the synthesis of pyridines and other heterocycles. 

The idea of solid-phase acid-catalyzed processes was originally developed by Toda et al. [46,47]. The pinacol rearrangement of aryl-substituted secondary and tertiary diols in the presence of solid p-toluenesulfonic acid (333 K) and trichloroacetic acid (293 K) was found to proceed faster and more selectively than in solution (batch reactor) [46]. 

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