GB222481A - Improvements in or relating to the purification of hydrocarbons - Google Patents

Abstract

222,481. Gray, T. T. Sept. 26, 1923, [Convention date]. Mineral oils, purifying.-In purifying hydrocarbon vapours, which may be obtained by cracking, by passage through a catalyst such as fullers earth, boneblack, bauxite., kieselguhr, &c., the vapours are passed round the vessel containing the catalyst before being passed through it. Unsaturated compounds become polymerized to form liquid products which may be returned to the still or be treated to obtain lubricating oils. Vapours from a pressure still 5, in which pressures of 5-35 atmospheres may be maintained, pass by a pipe 6 to the base of a dephlegmator 7 containing a catalyst vessel 8 open at the top. The vapours heat the vessel 8 before passing downwards through the catalyst, and pass through a separating chamber 12 to a condenser 13. The liquid polymers which form on the catalyst pass downwards into the chamber 12 and are either returned to the still by a pipe 18 or pass away through a cooling coil 20. The catalyst vessel may be closed at the top and open at the bottom, the vapours in this case entering the dephlegmator at the top, and the polymers and reflux passing from the base back to the still. A solvent such as the condensate from the process may be passed through the catalyst to remove polymerized products. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 (3) (a) states also that the catalyst vessel may be heated by a steam jacket or be provided with a heat-insulating casing. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.