US1392370A - Method for the purification of hydrocarbons - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE;

JOSEPH MAURICE TRENEER, OF NEW YORK, N.'Y., AND CHARLES S. BENJAMIN, 0] EAST ORANGE, -NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNORS TO ANDREW J. DOREMUS, OF WEST NEW BRIGHTON, NEW YORK, AND HOWARD G. TURNER, OF PATERSON, NEW

JERSEY.

unrhon ron tr m PURIFICATION or HYDROCARBONS.

No Drawing. Application filed June 4,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JosnPH MAURICE TRENEER, a citizen of Great Britain, and CHARLES S. BENJAMIN, a citizen of the United States, residing in, respectlvely, West New Brighton, county of Richmond, city of New York, and State of New York, and East Orange, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certaln new and useful Improvements in Methods for the Purification of Hydrocarbons, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

Our invention relates to methods for purifying hydrocarbonsand refers particularly to methods for purifying petroleum hydrocarbons.

Crude petroleum hydrocarbons, and especially those hydrocarbons which are solid, semi-solid or non-liquid at ordinary temperatures, contain unsaturated hydrocarbons, oils, water and other Ingredients which it is necessary to eliminate in order to obtain products which are practically colorless, odorless and tasteless.

This conversion of the crude product into the practically pure commercial article must be performed with considerable care in order that the desirable compounds may not be disintegrated, or broken down, into undesirable ones, and, for this reason, the proposed use of many chemicals and the following of many suggested processes have proven to be practically useless.

It is essential, therefore, that an efficient process for the described purification must be one which will destroy, or remove, the deleterious substances without aflecting the properties of the desirable hydrocarbons.

The use of strong chemicals is objectionable on account of their liability to attack the hydrocarbons and the employment of extremes of temperatures are similarly to be avoided as many of the hydrocarbons are affected, or changed, by abnormally high, or abnormally low, temperature andare particularly sensitive to chemical reagents under these circumstances. It is therefore evident that the use of chemicals under conditions that require extreme temperatures, or pressures, are not as desirable as a process conducted under normal conditions.

It is further to be noted that the comspeclflcatlon of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 4, 1921. 1 920. Serial No. 386,632.

monly employed practice of sweating steaming and filter pressing is cumbersome, requires the. use of expensive machinery, necessltates the employment of a very considerable amount of labor and requires a great amount of time for the following out of the operations.

The element of cost is also an essential consideration, and hence, the use of volatile solvents,,0 r of volatile. active reagents, must be accompanied by conditions that will not allow of excessive loss.

The process of our invention overcomes all of the above suggested difiiculties and presents a method whereby crude hydrocarbons may be purified at a minimum of cost and without the danger incident to the employment of strong'acids, or extremes of tern eratures.

e have discovered that crude hydrocarbons, and especially thosewhich are solid, or semi-solid, at ordinary temperatures, may be efiiciently and economically purified by treating them with a solution of sulfur-dioxid in certain solvents. We have further found that such treatment does not require the employment of extreme temperatures or the use of pressure.

As a solvent means, we refer those chemicals which will dissolve the objectionable compounds incorporated in the hydrocarbons as well as the objectionable ones which are formed by the action of the sulfur-dioxid, thus allowin of the ready separation of the desired iydrocarbons from those which it is advantageous to remove.

We have further found that our process is particularly advantageous in its application to those solid and semi-solid hydrocarbons known commercially as parafiins, vaselines, petrolatums and similar substances, although we do not limit ourselves to such particular applications.

While our process may be employed with solid hydrocarbons, such as paraflin, in lumps of considerable size, we prefer to use the solid hydrocarbon in a finely comminuted condition as more effective results are thus produced.

We vgive the following example of the following out of the process of our invention:

Sulfur-dioxid gas is run into 12 gallons benzol until 8 pounds of the absorbed. This solution is then a ded to 100 pounds finely comminuted yellow crude scale parafiin wax and the mixture thoroughly agitated until a test of the paraflin shows desired purification. This operation may be performed at the ordinary room temperature, that is, about 20, C. without pressure and usually requires but a few moments for its completion. The solution is then separated, as by filtration, and the remaining solution removed from the parafiin by pressure, heat or other suitable Any remaining coloring matter maybe substantially removed from the parafiin by passing it in a melted condition through a.

Thesulfur-dioxid in gaseous state follows the cycle of the benzol during the recovery by distillation and is redissolved in the puri'fied recovered benzol without considerable loss. I

The benzol in the above example may be substituted by acetone, ethyl-alcohol, wood alcohol, tolue'n'e,'xylene, car on-tetrachlorid, chlor-benzol, dichlor-benzol, or by any other alcohol or other solvent having properties making it adaptable to our process.

While we have mentioned a temperature of 20 C. in our example, we do not limit ourselves to this particular temperature,

which may be varied to suit the manufacturing conditions or particular grade of crude paraffin employed and 'we prefer to 'use a temperature above 32 F.

In the example we produce the solution of sulfur-dioxid by passing sulfur-dioxid gas through the solvent, but any other means of producing such a solution may be emplo ed.

y the following of our process, as above described, the deleterious unsaturated hydrocarbons and oils, the coloring matters and the water are practically removed leavingthe parafiin practically ordorless, colorless and tasteless and with higher melting point than that of the original crude paraflin.

It is evident from .the above that our process presents a new, novel and useful method for the efiicient, economical and easy purification of hydrocarbons.

We do not limit ourselves to the particular chemicals, quantities, temperatures or mode of procedure as described, all of which may aces-10' are be varied without going beyond the scope of our invention as described ,What we claim is 1. A process for the urificatlon of nonliquid hydrocarbons which comprises treating the. impure hydrocarbons with benzol and claimed.

containin sulfur oxid and separating the non-liquid hydrocarbons from \the liquid impurities.

2. A process for the purification of paraffin which comprises treating impure paraffin with benzol containin sulfur-dioxid and separating the parafiin rom the liquid impurities. I

3. A process for the purification of nonliquid hydrocarbons which comprises treating. the impure hydrocarbons with benzol containing. sulfur-dioxid .at atmospheric pressure and separating the non-liquid hydrocarbons from the liquid impurities.

4. A process for the purification of paraffin which comprises treating impure paraffin with benzol containing sulfur-dioxid at atmospheric premure and separating the paraflin from the li uid im urities.

.5. A process for t e puri cation of nonliquid hydrocarbons which comprises treating the im ure hydrocarbons with a solution of sul ur-dioxid in a solvent capable of dissolving the original objectionable com, pounds and those formed by the sulfurdioxid at atmospheric pressure and at a temperature above 32 F. and separatin the non-liquid hydrocarbons from the liquid impurities.

6. A process for the purification of paraffin which comprises treating impure paraffin with a solution of sulfur-dioxid in a solvent capable of dissolving the original objectionable compounds and those formed by the sulfur-dioxid at atmospheric pressure and at a temperature above 32 F. and separating the paraflin-from the liquid impurities.

7. A process for the purification of nonliquid hydrocarbons whlch comprises treating the impure hydrocarbons with benzol containing sulfur-dioxid at atmospheric pressure and at a temperature above 32 F. and separatin the non-liquid hydrocarbons from the liquid impurities.

8. A process for the purification of paraffin which comprises treating impure paraffin with-benzol containing sulfur-dioxid at atmospheric pressure and at a temperature above 32 F. and separating the paraflin from the liquid impurities.

- Signed at New vYork city, in the county of New York and State o'f New York, this