This is a supplement to Process Economics Program Report No. 22 issued in April 1967. In the current report, the cumene process, which is the dominating process for manufacturing phenol, is completely revised to get a more accurate economic evaluation. The manufacture of cumene is also described and evaluated.
Three new processes for making phenol: one from set-butylbenzene,
one from benzene by direct oxidation in the gas phase (based on Gulf Oil Company
patents), and one via phenyl acetate are included for evaluation. The manufacture
of set-butylbenzene is also evaluated. Five processes evaluated in PEP Report
No. 22 (the toluene process, the Raschig process, the sulfonation process, the
chlorination process, and the cyclohexane process) are briefly reviewed with
respect to new developments. The cost features of these processes are revised
as a result of introducing some minor modifications of the processes, using
improved estimation techniques, and adjusting to the present-day cost index.
