Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide an advantageous method for accelerating the cumene oxidation reaction without the drawbacks of the above-described previously known approaches by utilizing one or more airlift-type tray installed in one or more conventional commercial reactors utilized during the cumene oxidation process. Such a method is of great use in process configurations where it is desirable to achieve a controlled acceleration of the cumene oxidation process without decreasing process selectivity.

Abstract: A continuous method of cumene oxidation in a gas-liquid system is provided, where the liquid phase is represented by cumene and its oxidation products and the gas phase is represented by air. The oxidation process can be carried out either in a reactor series or in a single reactor at least one of which is preferably equipped with at least two airlift-type trays. When specific CHP concentration is achieved, the oxidation products are discharged from the to reaction zone and treated in a mixing device with aqueous ammonia or water to remove organic acids such as formic acid, benzoic acid, etc. and to remove phenol, which is an inhibitor of oxidation reaction. The cumene oxidation product stream, free of organic acids and phenol is recycled to the same reactor in the case of single reactor, or is passed to the next reactor of the series in the case of reactor series.

Abstract: A two-step method of crude phenol treatment from impurities, wherein a first step comprises oxidizing hydroxyacetone and aldehydes impurities, in phenol medium by air oxygen with the use of a heterogeneous catalyst which contains transition metals, and a second step comprises treating the unoxidized impurities with the use of a heterogeneous acidic catalyst. The separation of treatment by-products compounds produced during said phenol treatment may then be carried out by a conventional fractionation, distillation, or equivalent method, to produce highly purified product phenol.

Abstract: A method is provided herein for desalting of wastes/byproducts from a cumene-based phenol production process. The phenol production wastes (PPW), which comprise compounds formed during a technical grade cumene hydroperoxide cleavage stage (so called “phenol tar”) and/or aromatic derivatives formed during an alpha-methylstyrene hydrogenation stage (or a target AMS production stage) at a phenol tar to aromatic derivatives mass ratio of about 1:0.001 to about 1:2, and which have a salt content of about 0.1 wt. % to about 4 wt. %, are subjected to desalting by the inventive extraction process. The novel process utilizes an extractant (that may include water and/or an aqueous solution optionally containing Na2SO4 and/or NaHSO4) and having a PPW to extractant mass ratio of about 1:0.1 to about 1:2, and a parting agent (PA), (i.e., “salting-out agent”), that may be selected from an aromatic, such as benzene, ethylbenzene, or cumene, or an aliphatic, unsaturated or cyclic hydrocarbon having a boiling point of 180° C.