Odorless solvent naphtha

Claim 1

THE PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ODORLESS SOLVENT WHICH COMPRISES (1) CONTACTING AT AMBIENT TEMPERATURE WITH SILICA GEL A NAPTHA FEED, CONTAINING ODOR-AFFORDING CONTAMINANT AND DERIVED FROM HYDROCARBONS CONTAINING FROM 3 TO 5 CARBON ATOMS, SAID NAPHTHA FEED BOILING WITHIN THE RANGE OF FROM ABOUT 350* F. TO 424* F. AND BEING CHARACTERIZED BY BEING ESSENTIALLY FREE OF AROMATICS, SULFUR COMPOUNDS, AND FREE SULFUR, SAID CONTACTING BEING AT A RATE WITHIN THE RANGE OF FROM ABOUT 10 BARRELS TO ABOUT 30 BARRELS OF SAID FEED PER TON OF SILICA GEL PER HOUR FOR A TOTAL CONTACT OF FEED WITH SAID GEL NOT IN EXCESS OF ABOUT 50 BARRELS PER TON OF SILICA GEL, (2) SEPARATING SAID NAPHTHA FROM SILICA GEL CONTACTED IN STEP 1 TO OBTAIN SAID SOLVENT SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF SAID ODOR-AFFORDING CONTAMINANT, (3) CONTACTING SAID SILICA GEL WITH A MIXTURE CONSISTING OF AT LEAST ON ALCOHOL HAVING FROM 1 TO 3 CARBON ATOMS IN ADMIXTURE WITH AT LEAST ONE AROMATIC HYDROCARBON SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF BENZENE AND TOLUENE, SAID MIXTURE CONTAINING AT LEAST ABOUT 20% BY VOLUME AND NOT MORE THAN ABOUT 80% BY VOLUME OF SAID ALCOHOL TO OBTAIN AN ALCOHOL-AROMATIC HYDROCARBON SOLUTION OF ODOR-AFFORDING CONTAMINANT, (4) SEPARATING SAID SILICA GEL OF STEP 3 FROM THE ALCOHOL-ARMOMATIC HYDROCARBON SOLUTION OF STEP 3, (5) REMOVING ADSORBED ALCOHOL AND AROMATIC HYDROCARBON FROM THE SEPARATED SILICA GEL OF STEP 4, (6) SEPARATING BY DISTILLATIVE FRACTIONATION ODOR-PRODUCING CONTAMINAT FROM SAID ALCOHOLAROMATIC HYDROCARBON SOLUTION OF CONTAMINANT OBTAINED IN STEP 3, AND (7) RECYCLING SAID SEPARATED ALCOHOLAROMATIC HYDROCARBON MIXTURE OF STEP 6 TO STEP 3 OF THE PROCESS.