Brønsted–Lewis Dual Acidic Sulfonated Polyvinylpyrrolidone Tested in the Isobutane Alkylation Reaction

Abstract The present work deals with a detailed study of two new types of binary mixtures of Brønsted sulfonated polyvinylpyrrolidone [PVP‐SO 3 H][Cl] and Lewis acid anions (AlCl 3 and FeCl 3 ) that were used as catalysts in the isobutane/butene (I/B) alkylation reaction due to their heterogeneous catalytic function and easy separation from the reaction system. The butenes came from a real mixture of butene‐rich middle distillates. The catalysts were characterized by FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, TGA, and 27 Al NMR. The catalytic performance was evaluated under different reaction conditions, such as temperature and time. The best batch experimental results in the heterogeneous reaction system were achieved by employing the [PVP‐SO 3 H][Cl]‐AlCl 3 catalyst with 95% conversion and 37% selectivity for C8 hydrocarbons at −6 °C and 0.8 MPa; by the [PVP‐SO 3 H][Cl]‐FeCl 3 catalyst, 75% conversion and 39% selectivity for C8 hydrocarbons at 25 °C and 1.6 MPa were obtained. The catalysts were used for three consecutive reaction cycles without evident conversion and C8 hydrocarbon composition decrease.