Triflic acid catalyzed isobutane alkylation with trifluoroethanol as a promoter

The alkylation of isobutane and butene (C4 cut from industrial alkylation feed) catalyzed by triflic acid (TFSA)/trifluoroethanol (TFEA), has been systematically investigated in a batch autoclave. High selectivity of trimethylpentane (TMP, 80.1%) and high research octane number (RON, 97.2) were achieved with 30 vol.% TFEA in TFSA/TFEA catalytic system at 8 °C. Moreover, the TFSA/TFEA system can be recycled several times without significant loss of activity.

Alkylation of isobutane and butene was catalyzed by triflic acid (TFSA) with trifluoroethanol (TFEA) as a promoter. High-quality alkylate with up to 80.1% desired TMP and 97.2 RON was achieved with TFSA/TFEA catalyst, which is much better than with TFSA (> 99.9 wt.% in purity, alkylate with 19.1% TMP and 86.1 RON) or H2SO4 (95–98 wt.% in purity, alkylate with 43.4% TMP and 90. 4 RON).Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide