Enhanced catalytic performance of H2SO4‐catalyzed C4 alkylation by formyl functional [N1,1,1,1][C10SO4] additive

Abstract It is of fundamental importance to assess the additive for isobutane alkylation catalyzed by the concentrated H 2 SO 4 in actual industrial reactor, which usually contains 6.0–7.0 wt% red oil (ASO) impurity. Herein, the formyl functional [N 1,1,1,1 ][C 10 SO 4 ] additive was developed to enhance the catalytic performance of the H 2 SO 4 taken from industrial stream with emphasis on process optimization and reaction kinetics. The ASO that existed in the H 2 SO 4 from industrial stream has a promoting effect, and the introduction of [N 1,1,1,1 ][C 10 SO 4 ] with ratio of 0.3 wt% can further improve research octane number of alkylate even in a shorter reaction time. The kinetic model can well predict the concentration changes of key components, in which [N 1,1,1,1 ][C 10 SO 4 ] contributes to the larger reaction rate and lower activation energy for the targeted trimethylpentanes generation due to the intensified isobutane solvation. Hopefully, the novel additive has a promising application to optimize the H 2 SO 4 ‐catalyzed industrial alkylation process.