Solvent extraction of polychlorinated organic compounds from porous materials

Claim 1

A method of reducing the level of hexachlorinated organic compounds selected from hexachloroethane, hexachlorobutadiene, hexachlorobenzene, or mixtures thereof to a non-hazardous level in a solid, porous DERAKANE® vinyl ester resin, which has been previously used as the material of construction of a cell to produce chlorine, which vinyl ester resin was in contact with chlorine during chlorine manufacture which method comprises: (a) contacting the hexachlorinated compound-containing porous vinyl ester resin with an extraction solvent wherein the extraction solvent is selected from chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, trichlorethane, methyl chloroform, tetrachloroethane, perchloroethylene, benzene, toluene, xylene, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, or mixtures thereof, at a temperature and for a time sufficient to remove the absorbed hexachlorinated organic compound; and (b) separating the hexachlorinated organic compound-containing extraction solvent and vinyl ester resin.

Claim 2

A method of reducing the level of hexachlorinated organic compounds selected from hexachloroethane, hexachlorobutadiene, hexachlorobenzene, or mixtures thereof to a non-hazardous level in a solid, porous DERAKANE® vinyl ester resin, which has been previously used as the material of construction of a cell to produce chlorine, which vinyl ester resin was in contact with chlorine during chlorine manufacture which method comprises: (a) contacting the hexachlorinated compound-containing porous vinyl ester resin with an extraction solvent wherein the extraction solvent is selected from chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, trichlorethane, methyl chloroform, tetrachloroethane, perchloroethylene, benzene, toluene, xylene, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, or mixtures thereof, at a temperature and for a time sufficient to remove the absorbed hexachlorinated organic compound; and (b) separating the hexachlorinated organic compound-containing extraction solvent and vinyl ester resin.

Claim 8

A method for the disposal of DERAKANE® vinyl ester resin which has been previously used as the material of construction of a cell to produce elemental chlorine, which vinyl ester resin was in direct contact with the elemental chlorine during chlorine production, and is contaminated with hexachlorinated organic compounds wherein the hexachlorinated organic compound is selected from hexachloroethane, hexachlorobutadiene, hexachlorobenzene, or mixtures thereof, which method comprises: (a) contacting the hexachlorinated organic compound-containing vinyl ester resin with an extraction solvent is selected from chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethane, methyl chloroform, tetrachloroethane, perchloroethylene, benzene, toluene, xylene, or mixtures thereof, at a temperature and for a time sufficient to reduce the level of hexachlorinated organic compound in the porous material to an environmentally acceptable level; (b) separating the extraction solvent and vinyl ester resin; and (c) disposing of the treated vinyl ester resin of step (b) in an environmentally acceptable manner.

Claim 9

A method for the disposal of DERAKANE® vinyl ester resin which has been previously used as the material of construction of a cell to produce elemental chlorine, which vinyl ester resin was in direct contact with the elemental chlorine during chlorine production, and is contaminated with hexachlorinated organic compounds wherein the hexachlorinated organic compound is selected from hexachloroethane, hexachlorobutadiene, hexachlorobenzene, or mixtures thereof, which method comprises: (a) contacting the hexachlorinated organic compound-containing vinyl ester resin with an extraction solvent is selected from chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethane, methyl chloroform, tetrachloroethane, perchloroethylene, benzene, toluene, xylene, or mixtures thereof, at a temperature and for a time sufficient to reduce the level of hexachlorinated organic compound in the porous material to an environmentally acceptable level; (b) separating the extraction solvent and vinyl ester resin; and (c) disposing of the treated vinyl ester resin of step (b) in an environmentally acceptable manner.