(360b) Commercialization of Ionic Liquid Acid Alkylation Technology

Research activity in the field of ionic liquids has increased substantially over the past 20 years. However, despite strong interest from the academic community, examples of successful commercial applications of these new materials are limited. A promising exception is the use of ionic liquids as catalysts for paraffin alkylation to produce high quality alkylate gasoline. In 2016, Honeywell UOP and Chevron introduced the refining industry’s first new liquid alkylation technology in 75 years, ISOALKY^TM. The new process takes advantage of a wide range of unique ionic liquid physiochemical properties. Ionic liquids are liquid at room temperature, nonvolatile, and non-flammable. The ISOALKY catalyst is an aminochloroaluminate ionic liquid with a finely tuned acidity to avoid undesirable cracking, isomerization, and heavy by-product formation, and has properties that allow low inventory, low consumption, efficient separation, feed flexibility, and easy on-site regeneration. This talk will describe how bench-scale ionic liquid research ultimately led to the development of a commercially viable alternative to traditional hydrofluoric or sulfuric acid alkylation technologies, with lower handling risks and comparable process and economic performance.