This thesis describes the design and commissioning of a fixed bed flow reactor and its subsequent application in the screening of novel and modified sheet aluminosilicate catalysts for the acid catalysed alkylation of benzene with propene. The flow reactor was developed to study this reaction in the liquid phase at temperatures between 100 and 250 degrees centigrade and pressures between 10 and 50 bar. Batch reactions of benzene and propan-2-ol were used as an analogy for the commercial reaction of alkene and benzene, and showed that the expected di- and trisubstituted aromatics undergo isomerisation and trans alkylation reactions at 200 degrees centigrade over an acid exchanged montmorillonite mineral. In the flow reactor experiments, proton exchanged varieties of several minerals were screened for activity, and the variety known as Texas montmorillonite was chosen for more detailed study. These studies included the effects of different exchanged cations in the clay and that of varying reaction temperature, high liquid hourly space velocity and selective poisoning and with an organic base. Structural modifications to the catalyst were also considered in pillaring and charge reduction experiments. Ethylbenzene, is an undesirable by-product and an extensive study of the factors influencing cumene/ethylbenzene selectivity are detailed in the latter part of this work. Finally, the performance of the most promising catalysts in transalkylation reactions led to the identification of two of the modified catalysts used here as offering advantages over the present commercially employed catalyst.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:636907 |
| Date | January 1991 |
| Creators | Enos, R. D. |
| Publisher | Swansea University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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