Process for manufacturing alkanesulfonic acids

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12503429-B2
Application number	US-202017766035-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 22, 2020
Priority date	Oct 1, 2019
Publication date	Dec 23, 2025
Grant date	Dec 23, 2025

Abstract

The present invention relates to an improved process for manufacturing of alkanesulfonic acids.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A process for the production of alkane sulfonic acid comprising reacting sulfur trioxide and an alkane with a starter and/or starter precursor in a reactor cascade,
wherein the starter is selected from the group consisting of inorganic peroxoacids, salts of inorganic peroxoacids, organic peroxoacids, salts of organic peroxoacids, hydrogen peroxide, and mixtures thereof, and/or wherein the starter precursor is selected from the group consisting of sulfuric acid, oleum, SO3, alkanesulfonic acid, a bottom recycle stream from alkanesulfonic acid distillation, inorganic oxoacids, salts of inorganic oxoacids, hydrogen peroxide, and mixtures thereof, wherein reacting the sulfur trioxide and the alkane with the starter and/or starter precursor is a batch process and includes dividing the starter and/or starter precursor and adding the starter and/or starter precursor in portions to a first reactor and to further reactors of the reactor cascade, or wherein reacting the sulfur trioxide and the alkane with the starter and/or starter precursor is a continuous process and includes dividing the starter and/or starter precursor and adding the starter and/or starter precursor continuously to the first reactor and to further reactors of the reactor cascade.

2 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the continuous process comprises dividing a total amount of the starter and/or starter precursor x continuously over n reactors or over n minus 1 reactors in a homogenous manner, wherein each of the n reactors is supplied with a continuous fraction of x/n mol of the starter.

3 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the continuous process comprises feeding a largest amount of starter and/or starter precursor continuously into the first reactor of the reactor cascade while dividing evenly the remaining starter and/or starter precursor over the remaining reactors of the reactor cascade or over the remaining reactors but a last of the reactor cascade.

4 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the continuous process comprises adding a certain amount of the starter and/or starter precursor to the first reactor while feeding all the rest of the starter and/or starter precursor into a last reactor of the reactor cascade.

5 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the starter and/or starter precursor is provided in a solvent.

6 . The process according to claim 1 , comprising purifying a reaction mixture leaving a last reactor by distillation.

7 . The process according to claim 6 , comprising cooling a recycle stream leaving the distillation as a bottom residue prior to mixing it with a starter solution or a starter precursor solution.

8 . The process according to claim 7 , comprising cooling the recycle stream to temperatures <25° C.

9 . The process according to claim 7 , comprising cooling the starter solution and/or starter precursor solution while mixing it with the recycle stream.

10 . The process according to claim 7 , comprising cooling the starter solution and/or starter precursor solution in a first step, and then mixing it under further cooling at temperatures <50° C. with a pre-cooled recycle stream leaving the distillation as a bottom residue.

11 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the alkane is methane and the alkanesulfonic acid is methanesulfonic acid, and wherein the process optionally comprises supplying methane to each reactor of the reactor cascade.

12 . The process according to claim 1 , comprising adjusting methane pressure reactor by reactor within a range of 10 to 200 bar.

13 . The process according to claim 1 , comprising feeding methane at the same pressure into first reactor(s) of the reactor cascade, and constantly operating a last reactor of the reactor cascade at a higher methane pressure than the first reactor(s) of the reactor cascade.

14 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein at least one reactor type comprised by the reactor cascade is a continuously stirred tank reactor.

15 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein at least one reactor type comprised by the reactor cascade is an air lift reactor, a loop reactor, a bubble column or a trickle bed reactor.

16 . The process according to claim 1 , comprising measuring conversion of SO3 and formation of methanesulfonic acid with density, and/or comprising measuring addition of water with a conductivity measurement and/or ultrasound measurements.

17 . The process according to claim 1 , comprising detecting side products by spectroscopic methods.

18 . The process according to claim 1 , comprising adjusting mass flow rate of a purge stream according to an amount of unconverted SO3 and an amount of sulfuric acid formed during synthesis of the starter.

19 . The process according to claim 6 , wherein a feed to the distillation has a methanesulfonic acid content of 50 to 99 wt. %, and/or a feed to the first reactor has a SO3 content of 30 to 100 wt. %.

20 . The process according to claim 1 , comprising achieving a high conversion of SO3 to alkane sulfonic acid and reducing an amount of waste.

21 . The process according to claim 1 , comprising dividing addition of the overall starter amount over several addition points in the process.

22 . The process according to claim 5 , wherein the solvent comprises sulfuric acid and/or alkanesulfonic acid.

23 . The process according to claim 13 , comprising constantly operating the last reactor of the reactor cascade at a higher methane pressure by up to 20 bar than the first reactor(s) of the reactor cascade.

24 . The process according to claim 17 , comprising detecting side products by RAMAN spectroscopy and/or NMR spectroscopy.

Assignees

• Basf Se

Inventors

• Piepenbreier Frank
• Kempter Andreas
• Chan Chee Jian
• Mazarro Berdonces Rosario
• Schierle-Arndt Kerstin
• Kaibel Bjoern
• Spielmann Jan
• Borgmeier Frieder
• Zeilinger Michael
• Biertuempel Ingo
• Ott Timo

Classifications

• C07C309/04

  containing only one sulfo group · CPC title

• C07C303/06 Primary

  by reaction with sulfuric acid or sulfur trioxide · CPC title