Separation of aromatics and aliphatics using alkylene carbonate

Claim 1

A PROCES FOR EFFECTING THE SUBSTANTIALY SEPARATION OF A HYDROCARBON MIXTURE INTO THREE FRACTIONS, A FRACTION ONE COMPRISING BENZENE, ALKYL HOMOLOGS OF BENZENE AVERAGING LESS THAN TWO ALKYL CARBON ATOMS PER BENZENE RING, NAPTHALENE AND THOSE ALKYLENE HOMOLOGS OF NAPHTHALENE BOILING BELOW 300*C., A FRACTION TWO COMPRISING ESSENTIALLY ALKYL BENZENE HOMOLOGS AVERAGING AT LEAST TWO ALKYL CARBON ATOMS PER BENZENE RING BUT NOT MORE THAN FOUR ALKYL CARBON ATOMS PER BENZENE RING, ALKYL BENZENE HOMOLOGS AVERAGING AT LEAST TWO ALKYL CARBON ATOMS PER BENENE RING BUT A TOTAL OF NOT MORE THAN FIVE ALKYL AND CYCLOALKY CARBON ATOMS PER BENZENE RING, AND ALKYL SUBSTITUTED NAPHTHALENE HOMOLOGS BOILING ABOVE 300*C., AND A FRACTION THREE COMPRISING ESSENTIALLY NON-AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS AND ALKYL HOMOLOGS OF BENZENE HAVING A HIGHER DEGREE OF ALKYLATION THAN THOSE OF SAID FRACTION TWO, WHICH PROCESS COMPRISES FIRST EXTRACTING SAID MIXTURE WITH A 1,2 ALKYLENE CARBONATE CONTAINING FROM THREE TO FOUR CARBON ATOMS TO SEPARATE ONE OF SAID THREE FRACTIONS AND THEN EXTRACTING THE MEXTURE OF TWO FRACTIONS, RESULTING FROM SAID FIRST EXTRACTION, WITH THE OTHER OF SAID 1,2 ALKYLENE CARBONATES TO SEPARATE ONE FRACTION FROM THE OTHER.