Continuous sulfonation process

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS PROCESS FOR SULFONATING AN ORGANIC REACTANT, SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF COMPOUNDS HAVING AN ALCOHOLIC HYDROXYL, COMPOUNDS HAVING AN OLEFINIC LINKAGE AND COMPOUNDS HAVING AN AROMATIC NUCLEUS, WITH AN ACID SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF CONCENTRATED SULFURIC ACID AND FUMING SULFURIC ACID WHICH COMPRISES THOROUGHLY MIXING SAID ORGANIC REACTANT AND SAID ACID WITH A PREFORMED REACTION MIXTURE THEREOF BY SIMULTANEOUSLY AND CONTINUOUSLY INTRODUCING A STREAM OF SAID REACTANT, A STREAM OF SAID ACID AND A STREAM OF SAID PREFORMED MIXTURE, WITHOUT PREMIXING SAID STREAMS, INTO A ZONE OF VIGOROUS MIXING WHEREBY RAPID REACTION BETWEEN THE SAID REACTANT AND THE ACID IS EFFECTED AND A REACTION MIXTURE IS FORMED, CONTINUOUSLY WITHDRAWING THE REACTION MIXTURE FROM SAID ZONE AS A STREAM, SPLITTING THE REACTION MIXTURE IN SAID WITHDRAWN STREAM INTO AN OUTPUT STREAM AND A RECYCLE STREAM, RETURNING SAID RECYCLE STREAM AS SAID PREFORMED REACTION MIXTURE TO SAID ZONE OF VIGOROUS MIXING WHERE IT IS MIXED WITH INCOMING REACTANT AND ACID, AND COOLING AT LEAST THE RECYCLE PORTION OF THE WITHDRAWN REACTION MIXTURE BEFORE RETURNING THE RECYCLE STREAM TO THE ZONE OF VIGOROUS MIXING.