CH281401A - Process for the production of light-colored sulfonation products by sulfonating alkyl or cycloalkylbenzenes. - Google Patents

Description

  

  Process for the production of light-colored sulfonation products by sulfonating alkyl or cycloalkylbenzenes. Dureh aliphatic or cycloaliphatic radicals substituted derivatives of benzene are by condensation of benzene with alcohols, aliphatic or cycloaliphatic see halogen compounds, especially Ha logenkohlenwasserstoffen, or unsaturated compounds, especially unsaturated hydrocarbons, in the presence of condensation agents such. B.

   Aluminum chloride or concentrated sulfuric acid. They are generally quite light in color.



  In spite of this light color, these benzene derivatives, when sulfonated on an industrial scale, often give dark-colored sulfonic acids, which retain this color even in a neutralized state. This coloring interferes with the usability of the sulfonates as capillary-active iHittel, especially in detergents, sensitive.



  It has now been found that brightly colored sulfonation products can be prepared by sulfonation of alkyl or cycloalkylbenzenes in a simple manner by prior to sulfonation the alkyl or cycloalkybenzenes with hydrogen in the presence of hydrogenation catalysts under such conditions treated,

   that the impurities in the alkyl or cycloalkylbenzenes are converted in such a way that no dark-colored products are formed during the sulfonation.



  The amount of hydrogen to be used depends on the appearance of the benzene derivatives and their behavior during sulphonation and neutralization.



  As hydrogenation catalysts, deposited nickel or mixed nickel catalysts can optionally be used on a support material such as pumice stone or kieselguhr. The temperatures to be used depend on the activity of the catalyst. With a medium activity catalyst you will be able to work at temperatures between 115 and 10, but you can also achieve the goal with more or less active catalysts if you work at lower or higher temperatures.

    The treatment can be carried out under reduced, normal or increased pressure. In general, the use of a moderate overpressure is recommended.



  Although the lightening of the benzene derivatives substituted by aliphatic or cyeloaliphatic radicals as a result of the hydrogen treatment is often not great and although no change can be found in their boiling behavior, in contrast to the untreated material, sulphonation products are obtained from them with a very light color Salts can easily be used in detergents.



       Example: In a 2-liter autoclave, 1100 g of a pale yellow-colored alkylbenzene of the average chain length Cut, produced by condensation of chlorinated F'ischer-Tropsch hydrocarbons with benzene, with the addition of 80 g of a mixed catalyst (nickel Copper carbonate on kieselguhr) treated with hydrogen at a temperature of 115 ° C. at a pressure of 20 atmospheres until the uptake of hydrogen ceased. The consumption was about 9 atm.

   After letting down the pressure and cooling, the catalyst was filtered off and the now completely colorless alkylbenzene was obtained in practically quantitative yield. The hydrogen consumption was about 20,000 of the amount necessary for complete hydrogenation of the core.



  Both the alkylbenzenesulfonic acid produced from the pretreated alkylbenzene and the sulfonate powder obtained from it are lighter than the products obtained from untreated alkylbenzene. The amount of unsulfonated fractions obtained when sulfonating the alkylbenzene treated with hydrogen is no greater than when sulfonating the untreated alkylbenzene.

 

Claims (1)

PATENT CLAIM: Process for the production of light-colored sulfonation products by sulfonation of alkyl or cycloalkylbenzenes, characterized in that the alkyl or Cycloalkylbenzenes are treated with hydrogen in the presence of hydrogenation catalysts under such conditions that the impurities in the alkyl or cycloalkylbenzenes are converted in such a way that no dark-colored products are formed during the sulfonation.