Isobutane/1-Butene Alkylation Catalyzed by Ionic Liquid–Superacid Coupled Catalysts

Abstract�FThe alkylation of isobutane with 1-butene was synergeticly catalyzed by trifluoromethanesulfonic acid and ionic liquids in a batch autoclave. A high-quality alkylates with up to 80% desired trimethylpentane and 95 research octane number were obtained using the coupled catalyst with 33% trifluoromethanesulfonic acid. The coupled catalyst was reused 10 recycles without significant decrease in catalytic performance, compared to the today commercial H2SO4 catalyst. The middle- length cation of ionic liquids, for example C6, was shown to be good for both the quality and yield of alkylates.