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New Arylalkyl Sulfonates (AASA)
(US Patent Number 6,043,391)
Oil Chem Technologies has developed a new family of
anionic surfactants derived from the reaction of olefin
sulfonic acids and various aromatic compounds. The new
surfactants are different from conventional alkylaryl
sulfonates in two important aspects:
- The new arylalkyl sulfonates are prepared from the
reaction of an aromatic and an olefin sulfonic acid
without the need of a conventional alkylation process.
The conventional alkylaryl sulfonic acids are prepared
by first alkylating an olefin in the presence of a
catalyst followed by sulfonating with SO3 to form
the alkylaryl sulfonic acid. The scheme of the new
process compared to the conventional process is shown
below.
- The new arylalkyl sulfonate has the sulfonate group
attached to the alkyl chain and the conventional alkylaryl
sulfonate has the sulfonate group attached to the
aromatic ring as shown in the example below:
The difference in the point of attachment of the sulfonate
group accounts for the increased solubility, foaming,
detergency, hardness tolerance, skin mildness and other
properties as described, for example, in US Patent 6,043,391
and US Patent application 2004/0180805. The elimination
of the alkylation process also allows for considerable
savings in both the up-front investment for an alkylation
plant and the on-going expense of operating the plant
as shown below:
| Equipment |
Conventional Process |
New Process |
| Alkylation Unit |
$75-80 million* |
$0 |
| Sulfonation Unit |
$16 million |
$16 million |
| Neutralization Unit |
$2 million |
$2 million |
* Handbook of Petroleum Refining Process (1996) p 1.62
In practice, any aromatic may be used including benzene,
toluene, xylene, naphthalene, alkyl naphthalenes, phenol,
alkylphenols, alkoxylated phenols and alkoxylated alkylphenols.
Alkylbenzenes may also be used to give a product with
one sulfonated and one un-sulfonated chain. Also two
olefin sulfonic acid groups may be added to give a gemini
type surfactant with two anionic centers separated by
an alkylated aromatic.
Examples of Arylalkyl
Sulfonic Acid applications
Heavy Arylalkyl Sulfonates
XSA-1416
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