Preparation of pure white alkyl aryl sulfonates

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF ALKYL ARYL SULFONATES BY CHLORINATING A HYDROCARBON FRACTION OF UNIFORM CARBON NUMBER, SEPARATING PURE ALKYL MONOCHLORIDES FROM THE CHLORINATION PRODUCTS, REACTING THE ALKYL MONOCHLORIDES WITH AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF BENZENE, TOLUENE AND XYLENE, AND A MEMBER SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ALUMINIUM CHLORIDE AND ALUMINIUM CHLORIDE CONTACT OIL IN AT LEAST ONE STAGE, SEPARATING BY DISTILLATION PURE MONO-ALKYL AROMATICS FROM THE REACTION PRODUCTS, AND SULFONATING AND NEUTRALIZING THE MONO-ALKYL AROMATICS, THE IMPROVEMENT FOR OBTAINING PURE WHITE ALKYL ARYL SULFONATES CONTAINING MORE THAN 10 CARBON ATOMS AND LESS THAN 15 CARBON ATOMS IN THEIR ALIPHATIC CHAIN WHICH COMPRISES COMPLETELY REACTING THE PURE ALKYL MONOCHLORIDES WITH THE AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS WHEREBY NO UNREACTED ALKYL CHLORIDES REMAIN IN THE ALKYLATION MIXTURE, SEPARATING THE ALKYLATION MIXTURE FROM ANY CONTACT OIL PRESENT, AND PASSING THE ALKYLATION MIXTURE THROUGH A LAYER OF SOLID ALUMINUM CHLORIDE FOR CONTACT THEREWITH.