Separation of aliphatic paraffins from normally liquid hydrocarbon mixtures

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR SEPARATING A RELATIVELY STRAIGHT CHAIN ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBON FROM A NORMALLY LIQUID HYDROCARBON MIXTURE CONTAINING SULFOROUS, NITROGENOUS AND OLEFINIC CONTAMINANTS WHICH INTERFERE WITH THE ACTION OF THE SEPARATING AGENT, HEREINAFTER SPECIFIED, SAID HYDROCARBON MIXTURE HAVING A BOILING RANGENOT IN EXCESS OF THE BOILING RANGE OF THE GAS OIL FRACTION OF PETROLEUM, WHICH COMPRISES CATALYTICALLY HYDROGENATING SAID MIXTURE AT HYDROGENATION REACTION CONDITIONS SUFFICIENT TO REDUCE AT LEAST THE MAJOR PORTION OF SAID CONTAMINANTS TO HYDROGEN SULFIDE, AMMONIA AND PARAFFIN HYDROCARBON, SEPARATING THE HYDROGEN SULFIDE AND AMMONIA FROM THE HYDROCARBON MIXTURE, THEREAFER CONTACTING THE HYDROCARBON MIXTURE WITH A POROUS, INORGANIC SORBENTOF THE MOLECULE SIEVE TYPE IN WHICH THE PORE OPENINGS ARE OF A SIZE SUFFICIENT TO ADMIT A NORMAL ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBON INTO THE MOLECULE SIEVE, BUT NOT OF SUFFICIENT SIZE TO ADMIT BRANCED CHAIN AND CYCLIC HYDROCARBONS, WITHDRAWING A RAFFINATE COMPRISING NONSORBED, NON-STRAIGHT CHAIN HYDROCARBONS FROM THE SORBENT PARTICLES AND THEREAFTER CONTACTING THE SORBENT CONTAINING SORBED, RELATIVELY STRAIGHT CHAIN ALIPHATIC COMPONENTS OF SAID MIXTURE WITH A DESORBENT COMPRISING A STRAIGHT CHAIN HYDROCARBON HAVING A BOILING POINT OF AT LEAST 20*F. OUTSIDE OF THE BOILING RANGE OF THE ADSORBED COMPONENT OF THE MIXTURE.