Process for dewaxing oils

Claim 1

AN IMPROVED SOLVENT DEWAXING PROCESS WHICH COMPRISES ADDING WATER TO A WAX-OIL-SOLVENT MIXTURE IN AN AMOUNT VARYING BETWEEN ABOUT 2.5 PER CENT AND ABOUT 100 PER CENT, BASED ON THE WEIGHT OF THE WALL-OIL MIXTURE, TO PRODUCE A WATER - WAX - OIL-SOLVENT MIXTURE; TREATING SAID WATER-WAX-OIL-SOLVENT MIXTURE IN THE PRESENCE OF A SURFACE ACTIVE AGENT THAT PRODUCES A FINITE THREE-PHASE CONTACT ANGLE IN THE BUBBLE MACHINE TEST, IN AMOUNTS OF AT LEAST ABOUT 0.1 PER CENT, BASED ON THE WEIGHR OF THE WAX-OIL-MIXTURE, BUT LESS THAN THE AMOUNT NECESSARY TO PROMOTE FORMATION OF A WAX-OIL-SOLVENT MIXTURE-IN-WATER EMULSION IN WHICH THE WATER IS THE CONTINUOUS PHASE, TO PRODUCE A DISPERSION IN WHICH THE WATER IS THE DISPERSED PHASE AND THE WAX-OIL-SOLVENT MIXTURE IS THE CONTINUOUS PHASE; COOLING SAID DISPERSION TO THE FILTERING TEMPERATURE TO PRECIPITATE WAX AND TO FREEZE AT LEAST PARTIALLY SAID WATER; CONTINUING SAID TREATING TO ASSOCIATE SAID WAX WITH SAID DISPERSED PHASE, THEREBY PRODUCING A DISPERSED WAX- AT LEAST PARTIALLY FROZEN WATER PHASE; AND SUBJECTING SAID DISPERSION TO A FILTERING OPERATION.