Disposal of waste materials from unsaturated nitrile

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR TREATING A GASEOUS MIXTURE RESULTING FROM THE CATALYTIC VAPOR PHASE AMMOXIDATION REACTION OF AMMONIA AND OXYGEN WITH A MEMBER OF THE CLASS CONSISTING OF PROPYLENE AND ISOBUTYLENE SAID MIXTURE COMPRISING ITS CORRESPONDING UNSATURATED NITRILE FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF ACRYLONITRILE AND METHACRYLONTRILE AMMONIA AND REACTION BY-PRODUCTS COMPRISING HYDROGEN CYANIDE ACETONITRLE ACETONE ACROLEIN BY-PRODUCT POLYMERS AND METHACROLEIN OR PROPIONITRILE SAID PROCESS COMPRISING ADIABATICALLY COOLING SAID GASEOUS MIXTURE IN A QUENCHING CHAMBER BY EVAPORATION OF AT LEAST ONE COMPATIBLE VAPORIZABLE LIQUID MEDIUM SUPPLIED TO SAID QUENCHING CHAMBER SUFFICIENTLY TO CONDENSE AT LEAST SOME OF SAID POLYMER BY-PRODUCTS OF SAID REACTION SAID VAPORIZABLE LIQUID MEDIUM BEING A MEMBER OF THE GROUP CONSISTING OF WATER AND A HYDROCARBON THAT IS A SOLVENT FOR SAID UNSATURATED NITRILE SEPAATING CONDENSED BY-PRODUCT POLYMERS FROM SAID GASEOUS MIXTURE, CONTACTING SAID GASEOUS MIXTURE IN AN ABSORBER CHAMBER WITH A WATER-IMMISCIBLE HYDROCARBON ABSORPTION MEDIUM THAT IS A NONREACTIVE SOLVENT FOR AND HAS A BOILING POINT HIGHER THAN SAID UNSATURATED NITRILE WHEREBY SAID UNSATURATED NITRILE IS ABSORBED BY AND FORMS A SOLUTION WITH SAID ABSORPTION MEDIUM SEPARATING AND RECOVERING SAID SOLUTION AND SAID GASEOUS MIXTURE SCRUBBING THE GASEOUS MIXTURE RECOVERED FROM SAID ABSORBER CHAMBER TO REMOVE HYDROCARBON ABSORPTION MEDIUM FROM SAID MIXTURE WITH A SCRUBBING AGENT THAT HAS A BOILING POINT HIGH THAN THAT OF SAID HYDROCARBON ABSORPTION MEDIUM AND THAT IS NON-REACTIVE WITH SAID SOLVENT AND ALSO WITH PRODUCTS FO SAID REACTION CARRIED OVER IN SAID GASEOUS MIXTURE TREATING SAID SOLUTION TO RECOVER AN OVERHEAD FRACTION COMPRISING BY-PRODUCCTS OF SAID REACTION CARRIED OVER THAT HAVE A BOILING POINT LOWER THAN SAID UNSATURATED NITRILE AND A BOTTOM FRACTION COMPRISING SAID UNSATURATED NITRILE AND SAID HYDROCARBON ABSORPTION MEDIUM TREATING SAID BOTTOMS FRACTION TO SEPARATELY RECOVER SAID UNSATURATED NITRILE AND SAID HYDROCARBON ABSORPTION MEDIUM AND RECYCLING AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID RECOVERED HYDROCARBON ABSORPTION MEDIUM TO SAID ABSORBER CHAMBER.