An alkylation reactor uses ExxonMobil catalyst to convert benzene and ethylene to
ethylbenzene (EB) in the liquid phase. A small fraction of the EB is further alkylated to polyethylbenzenes (PEB), which is recovered in distillation and converted back to EB in the transalkylation reactor.
A transalkylation reactor uses ExxonMobil catalyst to convert the small amount of EB with benzene in the liquid phase. The effluent is sent to distillation to recover the additional EB production.
A simple distillation train recovers unreacted benzene, produces EB product, and recycles PEB to transalkylation.
ExxonMobil continues to be one of the leading EB catalyst suppliers in the world.
Since 2001, almost two-thirds of all new and replacement EB capacity was licensed by Badger and use ExxonMobil catalysts. As of 2017, ExxonMobil catalysts are deployed to some 35 EBMax customers and have enabled new grassroot units, revamps of older technology and expansions of ethylbenzene capacity, including many of the world's largest units. ExxonMobil catalysts account for more than 56% of the world's ethylbenzene production, in excess of 20 million metric tons per year, in the Badger EBMax and Badger Vapor Phase processes.
