Page 15 - Microsoft Word - Sulfo and Sulfa 1.doc

The invention of the process for continuous oleum sulfonation was the foundation of The
Chemithon Corporation in 1954 [4, 5] . Figure 16 shows a flow sheet for continuous oleum
sulfonation of detergent alkylate. In this process, alkyl benzene is mixed and reacted
with oleum in a recycle loop where the reaction mixture is cooled by recycling it through
a heat exchanger. Typical reaction temperatures in the recycle loop are 38–54°C. The
mixed acid products

Figure 15. Batch Azeotropic Sulfonation of Aromatics with Sulfuric Acid

Condenser

CW
Aromatic
Water

Aromatic
Sulfuric (toluene,
Acid xylene or
cumene)
Steam /
Hot Water

Product
Load Cell

Page 14 of 36 © 1997 The Chemithon Corporation