PARAFFIN ALKYLATION USING ZEOLITE CATALYSTS IN A SLURRY REACTOR - CHEMICAL-ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES TO EXTEND CATALYST LIFETIME

The alkylation of isobutane with 2-butene is carried out using a zeoli tic catalyst in a well stirred slurry reactor. Whereas application of Bred bed technology using a solid acid alkylation catalyst has in the past led to catalyst lifetimes in the range of minutes, in this work w e report catalyst lifetimes of 5-200 hours using a slurry reactor oper ated at high olefin conversion. From the experimental and modelling wo rk we show thar the key elements to extend catalyst lifetime appear to be (i) a zeolite (e.g. Beta) with high activity/stability, and high a cid site density (low Si/Al ratio) and (ii) a low olefin concentration throughout the reactor, which is achieved by intensive reactor mixing , low to moderate olefin space velocity and a high paraffin to olefin feed ratio.