keller

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS MULTI-STAGE PROCESS FOR SEPARATING RELATIVELY ADDUCT-FORMING HYDROCARBONS FROM A MIXTURE THEREOF WITH RELATIVELY NON-ADDUCT-FORMING HYDROCARBONS BY SELECTIVE ADDUCTION WITH A REAGENT SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF UREA AND THIOUREA, WHICH COMPRISES FORMING A SOLUTION OF ONE OF SAID REAGENTS IN A SOLVENT CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF BETWEEN ABOUT 5% AND 30% BY VOLUME OF WATER AND BETWEEN ABOUT 70% AND 95% BY VOLUME OF AN ORGANIC LIQUID SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF METHANOL, ETHANOL, PROPANOL, ISOPROPANOL, ACETONE AND ACETIC ACID, PASSING SAID REAGENT SOLUTION DOWNWARDLY THROUGH A SERIES OF CONTACTING ZONES INCLUDING AT LEAST TWO REACTION ZONES AND AT LEAST TWO SETTLING ZONES ZONE BEING A REACTION ZONE AND THE FINAL CONTACTING ZONE BEING A SETTLING ZONE, SAID REACTION ZONES BEING CHARACTERIZED BY (1) RELATIVELY MILD AGITATION AND (2) SUCCESSIVELY HIGHER REACTION TEMPERATURES IN THE DOWNSTREAMWARD DIRECTION, SAID SETTLING ZONES BEING CHARACTERIZED BY (1) RELATIVELY MILD AGITATION AND (2) TEMPERATURES NOT SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT FROM THE IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING REACTION ZONE; INTRODUCING SAID HYDROCARBON MIXTURE INTO ONE OF SAID REACTION ZONES LOCATED DOWNSTREAMWARDLY FROM THE FIRST REACTION ZONE TO EFFECT CONTACTING AND REACTION THEREIN, SEPARATING A NON-ADDUCTED, OIL FROM EACH OF SAID SETTLING ZONES, WITHDRAWING AS PRODUCT THE NON-ADDUCTED OIL RECOVERED FROM THE TOPMOST SETTLING ZONE, AND RECYCLING THE NON-ADDUCTED OIL RECOVERED FROM ALL OTHER SETTLING ZONES TO A REACTION ZONE LOCATED IMMEDIATELY UPSTREAMWARD FROM THE PRECEDING SETTLING ZONE TO THEREBY EFFECT STAGE-WISE STRIPPING OF ADDUCT-FORMING COMPONENTS FROM SAID HYDROCARBON MIXTURE.