Page 179 - CW E-Magazine (14-1-2025)

Special Report

comes from LAOs serving multiple
With acid catalysis, alpha olefins readily alkylate aromatic compounds such as benzene, phenol, xylene
and toluene. The products are mixtures of linear alkyl aromatics, ideal for conversion to detergents via
industries; from large volume commo-
Ethylene and normal alpha olefins can be copolymerized to produce high-density and linear low-density
React with carbon monoxide and a variety of nucleophiles to produce aldehydes, alcohols, esters or
dity polymer producers to small volume
specialty chemicals producers, across a
broad base, each with their own specifi-
cations of logistics, volumes consumed,
Secondary or primary alkyl bromides by Markownikoff or anti-Markownikoff addition.
etc. Each segment or sector served
has their own challenges and oppor-
tunities.
hypochlorous acid followed by treatment with base, treatment with peracids,
Normal alpha olefins can be converted into 1,2 epoxides by the addition of
Another key factor to consider is
Sodium alkane sulfonate with the sulfonate group in the terminal position.
product variation between grades pro-
polyethylene; homopolymerized producing 1-polybutene, for example.
duced at different plants. Up to dode-
cene-1 (C12) there is little difference
or by using tert-butylhydroperoxide and a molybdenum catalyst.
Mixture of alkene sulfonic acids plus gamma and delta sultones.
in properties of the LAOs produced
Mixtures of linear internal olefins and even-branched olefins.
from different sources. However,
beyond C12, significant variations arise
in properties such as concentration of
Secondary alkyl chlorides by Markownikoff addition.
Table 3: Chemical reactions of alpha-olefins(5)
LAO, internal olefin or branched spe-
Dimers, trimers, tetramers and related compounds.
cies. Some applications (e.g., personal
care) are favoured by more linear spe-
cies, others (e.g., some household
detergent and industrial applications)
benefit from modest branching(6).
Global LAO consumption was
about 5.7-mt in 2018, with Butene-1
accounting for 37%. The largest end-

LLDPE, which accounts for about half
of global demand.

Products 1,2-Dihalides. Mercaptans and sulphides. Alkenyl succinic anhydrides (ASA). sulfonation or ethoxylation. Mixture of branched carboxylic acids. acid chlorides. use for LAOs is for production of
The global LAO market touched
6.5-mt in 2022 and is expected to grow
at a CAGR of 6% until 2035 to reach
a size of about 14-mt.In 2022, North
America accounted for roughly 35% of
worldwide demand(7).
Addition of halogens (chlorine, bromine) Addition of hydrogen bromide Addition of hydrogen chloride Addition of hydrogen sulphide Addition of maleic anhydride Addition of sodium bisulphite Addition of sulphur trioxide Oligomerization and dimerization (HAOs) in the C10-C20+ range in 2022
Demand for higher alpha olefins

was about 1.75-mt, and is expected to
grow at just over 3% per year to 2030,
driven by the growing markets parti-
cularly for PAOs(8).

2023 demand for all LAOs is esti-

Reaction Alkylation reactions Epoxidation Isomerized products Koch reaction Oxo chemistry Polymerization mated at about 7-mt, and growing at
global GDP, about 3.5% CAGR during
2022-2027, though fractions have diffe-
rent growth rates. The demand growth

Chemical Weekly January 14, 2025 179

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