Cumene Process

The Cumene process (Cumene-phenol process, Hock process) is an industrial process for developing phenol and acetone from benzene and propylene. The term stems from cumene (isopropyl benzene), the intermediate material during the process. It was invented by Heinrich Hock in 1944 and independently by R. Ūdris and P. Sergeyev in 1942 (USSR).

This process converts two relatively cheap starting materials, benzene and propylene, into two more valuable ones, phenol and acetone. Other reactants required are oxygen from air and small amounts of a radical initiator. Most of the worldwide production of phenol and acetone is now based on this method. In 2003, nearly 7 million tonnes of phenol was produced by the Hock Process.