LINEAR ALKYL BENZENE SULPHONIC ACID

Description
Linear alkylbenzene sulfonic acid is the largest-volume synthetic surfactant because of its relatively low
cost, good performance, the fact that it can be dried to a stable powder and the biodegradable
environmental friendliness as it has straight chain. Linear alkylbenzene sulfonic acid is mainly used to
produce household detergents including laundry powders, laundry liquids, dishwashing liquids and other
household cleaners as well as in numerous industrial applications like as a coupling agent and as an
emulsifier for agricultural herbicides and in emulsion polymerization.

Chemical Properties
Appearance Brown liquid
Boiling Point 315 C
Class 8
Density 1.06 g/ml
Melting Point 10C
Molar Mass 326.49 g/mol
Molecular Formula C18H30O3S
Refractive 1.51 n20/D
Solubility Soluble
LAS;LABSA;LABS;Laurylbenzenesulfonic
Acid;Laurylbenzenesulfonate;Linear Alkylbenzene
Synonyms
Sulphonic Acid;DDBSA;Dodecyl Benzene Sulphonic
Acid;Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonic Acid

PRODUCTION of LABSA

LABSA (Linear Alkyl Benzene Sulphonic Acid) is produced by the

sulphonation reaction of Alkyl Benzene with Sulphur trioxide (SO).
Some other processes might desire the use of Oleum or Sulphuric acid.
The final decision will depend on various factors which might include
the availability of raw material, location of the plant, the size of the
plant, operation mode of the plant, to mention a few. Nevertheless,
considering major factors such as cost, availability, flexibility and
safety, SO still remains the preferential reagent for the reaction which is
as shown on the flowsheet.
LABSA is one of the major active ingredients for the production of
soaps and detergents. Importantly, it forms a greater percentage of raw
materials for the production of liquid soaps. Its major producer includes
Chemithon and Ballestra. Similar steps are used by both companies to
produce LABSA. However, the technology is slightly different
especially at the sulphonation stage where Chemithon utilizes the Falling
Film Reactor or Jet Reactor while Ballestra employs the Stirred Tank
Reactor/Cascade Reactor or Multitube Falling Film Reactor.

The flow diagram shown utilizes the principle of Falling Film Reactoror
or can be replaced with Multitube Falling Film Reactor

The Amount of electricity that would be consumed by the plant is

dependent on the location of the plant and the total design of the plant
and electrical configuration of the electrical components of the plant. It
is difficult to get the total electrical consumption without the total design
of the plant. My proposed way of finding the electrical consumption for
the design is to take the equipment section by section with a basis in
mind. For example, if the gas which will be produced during production
is 174000ft/hr, then a likely precipitator which can treat the gas will be
operating at a power of 2-3kW. This value will also depend on the
design type of the precipitator used. By doing this then we can get an
idea of the total electricity consumption in the design of the
plant.Electricity is most time saved by using a diesel powered pump
instead of electricity powered. This also needs to be considered during
the calculation.