Research progress in ionic liquids catalyzed isobutane/butene alkylation

The complicated reaction mechanism and the character of competitive reactions lead to a stringent requirement for the catalyst of C4 alkylation process. Due to their unique properties, ionic liquids (ILs) are thought to be new potential acid catalysts for C4 alkylation. An analysis of the regular and modified chloroaluminate ILs, novel Brønsted ILs and composite ILs used in isobutane/butene alkylation shows that the use of either ILs or ILs coupled with mineral acid as homogeneous catalysts can help to greatly adjust the acid strength. By modifying the structural parameters of the cations and anions of the ILs, the solubility of the reactants could also be adjusted, which in turn displays a positive effect on improving the activity of ILs. Immobilization of ILs is an effective way to modulate the surface adsorption/desorption properties and acid strength distribution of the solid acid catalysts. Such a process has a tremendous potential to reduce the deactivation of catalyst and enhance the activity of the solid acid catalyst. The development of novel acid catalysts for C4 alkylation is a comprehensive consideration of acid strength and its distribution, interfacial properties and transport characteristics.