Efficient production of bisphenol-A by utilizing cation-exchange polystyrene resins that are cross-linked by naphthalene or a biphenyl unit

摘要

Ion-exchange materials are well known for their utilization in the processes of water treatment,1, 2, 3, 4, 5 demineralization,6, 7 water softening,8, 9, 10 ultra purification of water11, 12 and removal of unwanted ions,13, 14 as well as in chemical processing.15 One ion-exchange material is acidic sulfonated polystyrene-divinylbenzene (DVB) cation-exchange resin, which has an important role in the production of bisphenol-A by participating in an acid-catalyzed condensation reaction between phenol and acetone. Bisphenol-A is a very important raw material for the synthesis of epoxy resins and polycarbonates; thus, >400 000 tons of bisphenol-A have recently been domestically produced.