Continuous simultaneous separation of the normal aliphatic and aromatic components of hydrocarbon mixtures

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS PROCESS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY SEPARATING THE AROMATIC AND NORMAL ALIPHATIC COMPONENTS FROM A NORMALLY LIQUID FEED STOCK MIXTURE OF HYDROCARBONS CONTAINING SAID COMPONENTS AND WHICH ALSO CONTAINS A RAFFINATETYPE HYDROCARBON SELECTED FROM THE BRANCHED CHAIN AND NAPHTHENIC HYDROCARBONS WHICH COMPRISES CHARGING SAID MIXTURE INTO THE SORPTION ZONE OF A FIXED BED OF A MIXTURE OF SOLID PARTICLES WHICH ARE MIXED, SELECTIVE SORBENTS FOR NORMAL ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS AND DIFFERENT SOLID PARTICLES WHICH ARE SELECTIVE SORBENTS FOR AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS, THE FIRST-MENTIONED PARTICLES BEING A DEHYDRATED METAL ALUMINOSILICATE HAVING PORES OF CROSS-SECTIONAL DIAMETER OF FROM ABOUT 4 TO ABOUT 6 ANGSTROM UNITS AND SAID DIFFERENT SOLID PARTICLES BEING SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ACTIVATED CARBON, ACTIVATED SILICA GEL AND A DEHYDRATED METAL ALUMINOSILICATE HAVING PORES OF CROSS-SECTIONAL DIAMETER GREATER THAN 6 AND LESS THAN 10 ANGSTROM UNITS, SORBING BOTH NORMAL ALIPHATIC AND AROMATIC COMPONENST OF THE FEED STOCK MIXTURE IN THE PARTICLE MIXTURE IN SAID SORPITION ZONE, WIGHDRAWING A RAFFINATE EFFLUENT FROM THE DOWNSTREAM OUTLET OF THE SORPTION ZONE, CHARGING A DESORBENT COMPRISING A NORMAL ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBON BOILING OUTSIDE OF THE BOILING RANGE OF THE NORMAL ALIPHATIC COMPONENT OF SAID FEED STOCK MIXTURE INTO A NORMAL ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBON DESORPTION ZONE DOWNSTREAM WITH RESPECT TO SAID SORPTION ZONE OUTLET, WITHDRAWING NORMAL ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBON DESORBATE FROM THE DOWNSTREAM OUTLET OF SAID DESORPTION ZONE, CHARGING A DESORBENT FOR SAID AROMATIC HYDROCARBON INTO A SEPARATE AROMATIC HYDROCARBON DESORPTION ZONE ALSO DOWNSTREAM WITH RESPECT TO THE OUTLET OF SAID SORPTION ZONE, WITHDRAWING AROMATIC DESORBATE FROM THE DOWNSTREAM OUTLET OF THE AROMATIC DESORPTION ZONE, SIMULTANEOUSLY AND CONTINUOUSLY REFLUXING PORTIONS OF EACH OF SAID RAFFINATE, SAID NORMAL ALIPHATIC DESORBATE AND SAID AROMATIC DESORBATE INTO RECTIFICATION ZONES NEXT ADJACENT DOWNSTREAM TO THE RESPECTIVE SORPTION, NORMAL ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBON DESORPTION AND AROMATIC DESORPTION ZONES, AND PERIDICALLY ADVANCING IN EQUAL INCREMENTS DOWNSTREAM THE INLETS OF SAID FEED STOCK MIXTURE AND SAID NORMAL ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBON AND SAID AROMATIC HYDROCAROBN DESORBENTS, WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY ADVANCING AN EQUAL INCREMENT OF HE TOTAL CYCLE THE OUTLETS FOR WITHDRAWING RAFFINATE AND SAID NORMAL ALIPHATIC DESORBATE AND SAID AROMATIC DESORBATE STREAMS.