Azeotropic distillation of hydrocarbons from sulfolanes

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR REMOVING A SULFOLANE SOLVENT FROM A MIXTURE THEREOF WITH A HYDROCARBON FRACTION HAVING A BOILING POINT RANGE EMBRACING THE BOILING TEMPERATURE OF THE SULFOLANE SOLVENT AND COMPRISING A MAJOR PROPORTION OF AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS, COMPRISING THE STEPS OF DISTILLING SAID MIXTURE IN A DISTILATION ZONE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN AZECTROPING AGENT WHICH IS CAPABLE OF FORMING TWO LIGUID PHASES WITH THE HYDROCARBON FRACTION AND FORMS LOW-BOILING MIXTURES WITH THE CONSTITUENTS OF SAID HYDROCARBON FRACTION, THE LOW-BOILING MIXTURES HAVING BOILING POINTS BELOW THE BOILING TEMPERATURE OF THE SULFOLANE SOLVENT, SAID AZEOTROPING AGENT BEING AN ALIPHATIC ALCOHOL HAVING A BOILING POINT BELOW THAT OF THE SULFOLANE SOLVENT AND WITHIN THE LOWER HALF OF THE BOILING RANGE OF THE HYDROCARBONS SEPARATING THE RESULTING OVERHEAD DISTILLATE CONSISTING PREDOMINANTLY OF HYDROCARBONS AND AZEOTROPING AGENT FROM THE DISTILLATION RESIDUE CONSISTING PREDOMINANTLY OF SULFOLANE SOLVENT, CONDENSING, THE DISTILLATE, AND SEPARATING THE CONDENSED DISTILLATE INTO A LIQUID HYDROCARBON PHASE AND A LIQUID AZEOTROPING AGENT PHASE.