Extraction of aromatic hydrocarbons from mixed hydrocarbons with a silver salt and an alkane sulfonic acid

Claim 1

AN AROMATIC HYDROCARBON SEPARATION PROCESS COMPRISING (1) COUNTERCURRENTLY CONTACTING UNDER ESSENTIALLY ANHYDROUS CONDITIONS AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN ABOUT 0* C. AND 150* C. A FEED CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS AND SATURATED NON-AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS, SAID HYDROCARBONS BOILING BELOW ABOUT 450* F. WITH A TREATING AGENT CONSISTING OF (A) AN ALKANESULFONIC ACID HAVING FROM 1 TO 9 CARBON ATOMS AND (B) A SILVER SALT SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF SILVER SULFATE AND SILVER ALKANESULFONATES CONTAINING FROM 1 TO 9 CARBON ATOMS WHEREIN SAID ACID IS PRESENT IN AN AMOUNT BETWEEN ABOUT 50 AND 120 VOLUME PERCENT BASED ON SAID FEED AND SAID SILVER SALT IS PRESENT IN AN AMOUNT OF AT LEAST ABOUT 1 GRAM ATOM OF SILVER PER MOL OF AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS IN SAID FEED, WHICH TREATING AGENT CONTAINS SAID SILVER SALT IN AN AMOUNT THAT EXCEEDS THE PHYSICAL SOLUBILITY OF SAID SILVER SALT IN SAID ALKANESULFONIC ACID, WHEREBY SAID TREATING AGENT CONSISTS OF SAID ALKANESULFONIC ACID, PHYSICALLY DISSOLVED SILVER SALT AND SOLID SILVER SALT PARTICLES DISPERSED IN SAID ALKANESULFONIC ACID, THE TREATING AGENT APPEARING TO BE A LIQUID, (2) SEPARATING A RAFFINATE PHASE FROM AN EXTACT PHASE COMPRISING TREATING AGENT AND AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (3) REMOVING ESSENTIALLY ALL THE HYDROCARBONS FROM SAID EXTRACT PHASE BY A DISTILLATION PROCEDURE TO RECOVER TREATING AGENT CONSISTING OF ALKANESULFONIC ACID, PHYSICALLY DISSOLVED SILVER SALT AND SOLID SILVER SALT PARTICLES DISPERSED IN SAID ALKANESULFONIC ACID, THE WHOLE APPEARING TO BE A LIQUID, AND (4) RECYCLING SAID RECOVERED TREATING AGENT TO SAID CONTACTING ZONE.