ABSTRACT
The addition of an alkyl group to any compound is an alkylation reaction but in petroleum refining terminology the term alkylation is used for the reaction of low molecular weight olefins with an isoparaffin to form higher molecular weight isoparaffins [11]. Although this reaction is simply the reverse of cracking, the belief that paraffin hydrocarbons are chemically inert delayed its discovery until about 1935 [8]. The need for high-octane aviation fuels during World War II acted as a stimulus to the development of the alkylation process for production of isoparaffinic gasolines of high octane number.
