Commercial production of cumene is by Friedel–Crafts alkylation of benzene with propylene. Cumene producers account for approximately 20% of the global demand for benzene. The original route for manufacturing of cumene was by alkylation of benzene in the liquid phase using sulfuric acid as a catalyst, but because of the complicated neutralization and recycling steps required, together with corrosion problems, this process has been largely replaced. As an alternative, solid phosphoric acid (SPA) supported on alumina was used as the catalyst.