Recovery and purification of oil soluble oxygenated compounds

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR THE RECOVERY OF NON-ACID OXYGENATED ORGANIC CHEMICALS FROM HYDROCARBON SOLUTIONS THEREOF CONTAINING FATTY ACIDS, THE STEPS WHICH COMPRISE NEUTRALIZING THE ACIDS PRESENT IN SAID SOLUTION TO OBTAIN A TWO-PHASE MIXTURE CONSISTING OF AN ESSENTIALLY NEUTRAL OIL LAYER CONTAINING NON-ACID OXYGENATED ORGANIC CHEMICALS AND A LOWER AQUEOUS PHASE CONTAINING IN THE FORM OF THEIR CORRESPONDING SALTS ESSENTIALLY ALL OF THE ACIDS ORIGINALLY PRESENT IN SAID HYDROCARBON SOLUTION TOGETHER WITH MINOR AMOUNTS OF SOLUBILIZED HYDROCARBONS AND NON-ACID OXYGENATED ORGANIC CHEMICALS, SUBJECTING SAID NEUTRAL OIL LAYER TO EXTRACTION WITH A 20 TO 50 WEIGHT PER CENT AQUEOUS SOLUTION OF SALTS DERIVED FROM A MIXTURE OF ALIPHATIC CARBOXYLIC ACIDS HAVING AN AVERAGE MOLECULAR WEIGHT OF FROM ABOUT 85 TO ABOUT 115, THEREAFTER SUBJECTING THE RESULTING EXTRACT TO DISTILLATION TO OBTAIN OVERHEAD A FRACTION COMPRISING SAID CHEMICALS AND A MINOR AMOUNT OF HYDROCARBONS, SUBJECTING SAID OVERHEAD FRACTION TO DISTILLATION UP TO A TEMPERATURE OF FROM ABOUT 90* TO ABOUT 110*C., COLLECTING AN OVERHEAD PORTION THEREFROM CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF HYDROCARBONS, WITHDRAWING A BOTTOMS FRACTION OF OIL SOLUBLE OXYGENATED ORGANIC CHEMICALS ESSENTIALLY FREE FROM HYDROCARBNS, SUBJECTING SAID LOWER AQUEOUS TO EXTRACTIVE DISTILLATION WITH A SOLUTION OF ALIPHATIC CARBOXYLIC ACID SALTS DERIVED BY NEUTRALIZING THE FREE ACIDS IN SAID HYDROCARBON SOLUTION TO OBTAIN AN OVERHEAD COMPRISING HYDROCARBONS ESSENTIALLY FREE FROM CHEMICALS, WITHDRAWING A BOTTOMS FRACTION COMPRISING SAID LAST MENTIONED CARBOXYLIC ACID SALTS RICH IN CHEMICALS AND SUBJECTING SAID BOTTOMS TO DISTILLATION TO GIVE AN OVERHED CONTAINING CHEMICALS AND A DECREASED AMOUNT OF HYDROCARBONS, AND THEREAFTER FRACTIONATING THE LATTER UP TO A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT 150*C. TO OBTAIN A DISTILLATE CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF HYDROCARBONS AND WITHDRAWING A BOTTOMS OF ORGANIC CHEMICALS SUBSTANTIALLY FREE FROM HYDROCARBONS.