Recovery of oxidized petroleum products

Claim 1

IN THE PROCESS OF PRODUCING VALUABLE OXIDATION PRODUCTS FROM HYDROCARBONS, WHICH INCLUDES PARTIALLY OXIDIZING A HYDROCARBON TO PRODUCE AN OXIDIZED PRODUCT; TREATING SAID OXIDIZED PRODUCT WITH AN AQUEOUS SOLUTION OF A CAUSTIC MATERIAL AT A TEMPERATURE AND FOR A PERIOD OF TIME SUFFICIENT TO SAPONIFY AND NEUTRALIZE THE SAPONIFIABLE AND NEUTRALIZABLE MATERIAL PRESENT IN SAID OXIDIZED PRODUCT, TO PRODUCE AN LEAGINOUS LAYER CONTAININ UNOXIDIZED HYDROCARBONS AND OXYGEN-CONTAINING UNSAPONIFIABLE MATERIAL AND A PRIMARY AQUEOUS LAYER CONTAINING SALTS OF OIL-SOLUBLE ORGANIC ACIDS AND OF WATER-SOLUBLE ORGANIC ACIDS; SEPARATING SAID OLEAGINOUS LAYER FROM SAID PRIMARY AQUEOUS LAYER; ADDING AN ACIDIC MATERIAL TO SAID PRIMARY AQUEOUS LAYER TO CONVERT SAID SALTS OF THE OIL-SOLUBLE ORGANIC ACIDS AND OF WATERSOLUBLE ORGANIC ACIDS INTO FREE ORGANIC ACIDS TO PRODUCT A LAYER CONTAINING THE OIL-SOLUBLE ORGANIC ACIDS AND A SECONDARY AQUEOUS LAYER CONTAINING THE WATER-SOLUBLE ACIDS; AND SEPARATING SAID LAYER CONTAINING THE OIL-SOLUBLE ORGANIC ACIDS FROM SAID SECONDARY AQUEOUS LAYER; THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES NEUTRALIZING SAID SECONDARY AQUEOUS LAYER WITH AN AQUEOUS SOLUTION OF A CAUSTIC MATERIAL TO CONVERT THE WATER-SOLUBLE ORGANIC ACIDS INTO SALTS THEREOF; EVAPORATING THE WATER FROM THE THUS NEUTRALIZED SECONDARY AQUEOUS LAYER TO OBTAIN A SOLID MATERIAL CONTAINING SAID SALTS OF SAID WATER-SOLUBLE ORGANIC ACIDS; EXTRACTING SAID SOLID MATERIAL WITH AN ALCOHOL TO PRODUCE AN EXTRACT CONTAINING SAID SALTS OF SAID WATER-SOLUBLE ORGANIC ACIDS; EXTRACTING THE OLEAGINOUS LAYER CONTAINING THE UNOXIDIZED HYDROCARBONS AND THE OXYGEN-CONTAINING UNSAPONIFIABLE MATERIAL WITH A SOLVENT SELECTIVE FOR SAID OXYGENCONTAINING UNSAPONIFIABLE MATERIAL TO PRODUCE AN EXTRACT; AND REMOVING SAID SOLVENT FROM SAID EXTRACT.