Rearrangement of aralkyl hydroperoxides to form phenols and carbonyl compounds

Claim 1

A continuous process for catalytically cleaving an aralkyl hydroperoxide of the general formula ##STR3## where Ar is an unsubstituted benzene nucleus, alkyl benzene nucleus or polynuclear aromatic, R and R' are alkyl, cycloalkyl or hydrogen, and n is a whole number from one to three inclusive, to form the corresponding phenolic and carbonyl compounds, comprising the steps of: (a) forming a reaction mixture by continuously combining said hydroperoxide in the presence of a substantially non-reactive material selected from the group consisting of an organic solvent and liquid carrier with an acid cleavage catalyst in an amount of at least about 0.10% of said reaction mixture, said catalyst being selected from the class consisting of mineral acids and Lewis acids, (b) flowing said reaction mixture through a reaction zone characterized by the lack of substantial backmixing at a temperature of about 50° C.-120° C. for a residence time sufficient to complete cleavage of said hydroperoxide to its corresponding phenolic compound, the hold back in said reaction zone being limited to a value less than 1/3, where e is the natural function 2.718 to control the formation of highly colored side products, and (c) continuously recovering from said reaction zone a reaction effluent containing said cleavage products and substantially devoid of highly colored side products.