| abstract |
1,142,070. Process for the production of 2,6- xylenol. SUMITOMO CHEMICAL CO. Ltd. 19 Dec., 1966 [28 Dec., 1965], No. 56735/66. Heading C2C. [Also in Division C5] The invention relates to a process for producing 2,6-xylenol, which comprises tertiary alkylating m-xylene to form 3,5-dimethyltertiary-alkylbenzene, sulphonating the resulting 3,5-dimethyl-tertiary-alkylbenzene to form 2,6-dimethyl-4-tertiary-alkylbenzene sulphonic acid, fusing the resulting 2,6 - dimethyl - 4- tertiary-alkyl-benzene sulphonic acid with an alkali to form 2,6-dimethyl-4-tertiary-alkylphenol and de-tertiary alkylating the resulting 2,6 - dimethyl - 4 - tertiary - alkylphenol. Preferably the tertiary alkylation is carried out by reacting the m-xylene with a tertiary olefin, a tertiary alkyl halide or a tertiary alkyl alcohol in the presence of a Friedel-Crafts catalyst, e.g. sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, aluminium chloride, ferric chloride, zinc chloride, stannic chloride, titanium tetra-chloride or borontrifluoride. |