Alkylation-transalkylation process

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF AN ALKYLAROMATIC COMPOUND WHICH COMPRISES ALKYLATING AN ALKYLATABLE AROMATIC COMPOUND WITH AN OLEFIN-ACTING COMPOUND IN AN ALKYLATION REACTION ZONE CONTAINING A CONVERSION CATALYST CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF A FLUORINE-CONTAINING REFRACTORY INORGANIC OXIDE COMPOSITE CHARACTERIZED AS HAVING A HAMMET ACIDITY FUNCTION VALUE OF LESS THAN -8.0 AND CONTAINING FROM ABOUT 2 TO 8% BY WEIGHT OF FLUORIDE, SAID COMPOSITE HAVING BEEN PREVIOUSLY TREATED WITH A SUBSTANTIALLY ANHYDROUS OXYGEN-FREE INERT GAS AT A TEMPERATURE OF BETWEEN 450*C. AND ABOUT 700*C., COMMINGLING THE EFFLULENT OF SAID ALKYLATION ZONE WITH EFFLULENT FROM A TRANSALKYLATION REACTION ZONE AS HEREINAFTER SET FORTH, PASSING THE THUS COMMINGLED EFFLULENTS TO A SEPARATION ZONE, SEPARATING FROM THE SEPARATION ZONE UNREACTED AROMATIC COMPOUND, DESIRED MONOALKYLATED AROMATIC COMPOUND AND HIGHER MOLECULAR WEIGHT POLYALKYLATED AROMATIC COMPOUND, RECYCLING AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID UNREACTED AROMATIC COMPOUND TO THE ALKYLATION REACTION ZONE, REMOVING DESIRED MONOALKYLATED AROMATIC COMPOUND AS PRODUCT FROM THE PROCESS, PASSING SAID POLYALKYLATED AROMATIC COMPOUND AND AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID UNREACTED AROMATIC COMPOUND TO A TRANSALKYLATION REACTION ZONE CONTAINING SAID CONVERSION CATALYST, THEREIN SUBJECTING SAID POLYALKYLATED AROMATIC COMPOUND TO REACTION WITH SAID UNREACTED AROMATIC COMPOUND IN THE PRESENCE OF SAID CONVERSION CATALYST, AND RECYCLING THE EFFLULENT FROM SAID TRANSALKYLATION TO SAID COMMINGLING STEP AS AFORESAID.