Synthesis of Cumene from Lignin by Catalytic Transformation

Cumene is an important intermediate and chemical in chemical industry.In this work,directional preparation of cumene using lignin was achieved by a three-step cascade process.The mixture aromatics were first produced by the catalytic pyrolysis of lignin at 450℃ over 1% Zn/HZSM-5 catalyst,monocyclic aromatics with the selectivity of 85.7 wt% were obtained.Then,the catalytic dealkylation of heavier aromatics resulted in benzene-rich aromatics with 93.6 wt% benzene at 600℃ over Hβ catalyst.Finally,the cumene synthesis was performed by the aromatic alkylation,giving cumene selectivity of 91.6 C-mol% using thebmimCl-2AlCl₁₃ ionic liquid at room temperature for 15 min.Besides,adding a small amount of methanol to the feed can efficiently suppress the coke yield and enhance the aromatics yield.The proposed transformation potentially provides a useful route for production of cumene using renewable lignin.