Albemarle Corporation

Chi Hung Cheng

Joe D Sauer

Gerald M Sulzer

Charles H Kolich

Ronny W Lin

Vincent James Gatto

W Dirk Klobucar

Hassan Y Elnagar

John F Balhoff

J Robert Adams, Jr

Arthur G Mack

William J Layman, Jr

Charles R Everly

Richard A Holub

Rajeev S Mathur

Jan Nieman

Zhongxin Ge

Christopher J Knight

Steven A Anderson

Milind M Pradhan

Neal J Colonius

Sarah C Jones

Donald W Imhoff

Jackson R Switzer

One or more methods are described for extracting boron. The one or more methods include combining a combination comprising an alcohol, an organic solvent and boron, with an aqueous solution comprising an alkali hydroxide so as to form an organic layer and an aqueous layer. The aqueous layer may be separated from the organic layer.

Methods for extracting boron from an organic solution

Producing high purity lithium solution from a lithium source containing dissolved Na, Ca, and Mg, by: passing the source into and out of a bed of sorbent composed of hydrated alumina intercalated with LiX, preferably LiCl, to extract lithium from the lithium source into the sorbent; washing the bed of sorbent with dilute aqueous LiCl to remove lithium from the sorbent to obtain a lithium eluent of increased Liconcentration; subjecting this eluent to nanofiltration to produce a lithium permeate from which Ca2+, Mg2+, and other nanofilterable components are concurrently removed, yielding a permeate solution with 25% or less, and a retentate solution with 75% or more Caand Mg, as compared to the eluent from washing; and subjecting the permeate solution to a particular forward osmosis yielding a solution having 13,000-25,000 ppm dissolved lithium. Specified optional steps and new features can be used to increase lithium concentrations and purity.

Processes for recovering lithium values from lithium-containing brines

Described is process technology for producing brominated aromatic polymer compositions from low molecular weight aromatic polymer compositions. The specified conditions used in the process enable the formation of products having superior color and thermal stability properties.

Bromination of low molecular weight aromatic polymer compositions

A novel manufacturing process is described for producing hindered phenolic alkyl esters, which may be useful as antioxidants. This process simplifies catalyst neutralization and removal during the preparation of hindered phenolic esters. Compositions that comprise the hindered phenolic esters produced according to these methods are also described.

Preparation of sterically hindered hydroxyphenylcarboxylic acid esters

This invention provides a process for reducing the amount of soluble halide in a solution comprising a liquid organic medium, at least one viscosity reducing agent, at least one dihydrocarbylmagnesium compound, and an initial amount of soluble halide. The process comprises mixing at least one alkali metal with the solution at a mole ratio of alkali metal to magnesium of less than about 1:2.5, thereby forming precipitated soluble halides. Also provided by this invention is a process for reducing the amount of soluble halide in a slurry comprising a liquid organic medium, at least one viscosity reducing agent, at least one dihydrocarbylmagnesium compound, solids from the formation of said dihydrocarbylmagnesium compound, and an initial amount of soluble halide. This process comprises mixing at least one alkali metal with the slurry at a mole ratio of alkali metal to magnesium of less than about 1:1.25, thereby forming precipitated soluble halides.

Halide reduction in dihydrocarbylmagnesium mixtures

Epoxyalkanes are subjected to at least one of the following washing operations: (1) washing with aqueous inorganic base, and then with aqueous borohydride, or vice versa; or (2) washing with an aqueous solution of both inorganic base and borohydride. Undesirable odor is reduced or eliminated from alkanediol(s), if produced from the treated epoxyalkane(s) by hydrolysis. Use of such washing procedures in the production of alkanediols is also described.

Preventing undesired odor in and/or purifying alkanediols

Mixed together are (i) hydrogen peroxide; (ii) 1-alkene; (iii) quaternary ammonium salt wherein at least one of the substituents contains at least six carbon atoms; (iv) boric acid, or both a 1,2-diol and boric acid; and (v) a preformed catalyst solution formed from hydrogen peroxide, at least one aqueous inorganic acid, and at least one tungstate salt, while water is continuously removed, such that a 1,2-epoxide is formed. A new method for purifying 1,2-epoxyalkanes is also described.

Epoxidation of olefins

This invention describes processes for producing halomagnesium fluoroaryl carboxylates. In one such process, a fluoroaryl Grignard reagent is added to an anhydrous liquid ethereal medium pretreated with carbon dioxide.

Process for producing fluoroaromatic carboxylates

An aqueous solution of basic mercaptide salt and water-soluble peroxide are mixed together in a reaction zone and maintained under reaction conditions effective to produce a vapor phase comprising organic disulfide, and concurrently vapor phase is recovered from the reaction zone. The process is highly efficient and enables production of organic disulfides in high yield and purity. Not only is the process very easy and simple to carry out, but in addition the process (i) eliminates the need for forming an organic phase of liquid organic disulfide product and conducting a separation between such product and the total aqueous phase used in the reaction, (ii) enables efficient control of a highly exothermic reaction, and (iii) minimizes alkanesulfonic acid salt formation during the reaction.

Process for production of organic disulfides

It has been found possible to separate catalytically-active aminophosphonium catalysts from mixtures composed predominately of aminophosphonium catalyst residue(s) and heavy ends from a halogen exchange reaction conducted in an aprotic solvent/diluent by extracting such mixtures with a neutral or acidic aqueous extraction solvent medium. Various ways of isolating from the halogen exchange reaction product mixture a mixture composed predominately of aminophosphonium catalyst residue(s) and heavy ends are described. Halogen exchange processes in which the catalytically-active aminophosphonium catalysts are separated for reuse are also described. Since aminophosphonium catalysts are expensive, the present process technology fulfills a need which has existed for an effective way of recovering such catalysts in catalytically active form enabling reuse of such materials, especially as halogen exchange catalysts.

Catalyst recovery for halogen exchange reactions

N-hydrocarbylthiophosphoric triamide is separated or recovered from a liquid mixture comprising N-hydrocarbylthiophosphoric triamide, inert organic solvent, and optionally but preferably, tertiary amine, by continuously introducing a stream of the liquid mixture into a wiped film evaporator operating at a temperature in the range of about 60 to about 140.degree. C., and at a pressure that avoids solids formation on the heating surface of the wiped film evaporator, and continuously collecting the resultant N-hydrocarbylthiophosphoric triamide product.

Recovery of N-hydrocarbylthiophosphoric triamides and

A reaction mixture containing N-hydrocarbylthiophosphoric triamide or N-hydrocarbylphosphoric triamide ('Triamide') is formed by reacting ammonia with N-hydrocarbylaminothiophosphoryl dichloride or N-hydrocarbylaminophosphoryl dichloride in a liquid organic medium, in proportions of at least 16 moles of ammonia per mole of such dichloride and that keep in solution the ammonium chloride co-product formed in the reaction. The temperature of the reaction mixture is kept high enough to keep ammonium chloride-ammonia complex from forming a solid phase in the reaction mixture, but low enough to avoid significant reduction in Triamide yield. The reaction mixture is then caused/allowed to separate into an inorganic phase comprising ammonia, ammonium chloride and co-product thiophosphoric triamide or phosphoric triamide, and an organic phase comprising Triamide, liquid organic medium, dissolved ammonia and, usually, phosphorus impurities. These phases are separated from each other. The ammonia is removed from the organic phase to leave a concentrated solution of Triamide in residual liquid organic medium usually also containing phosphorus impurities. The Triamide is separated or recovered from this residual mixture by continuously introducing a stream of the liquid mixture into a wiped film evaporator operating at a temperature of about 60.degree.-140.degree. C., and at a pressure that avoids solids formation on the heating surface of the wiped film evaporator, and continuously collecting the Triamide product. Triamides are urease inhibitors for use with urea-based fertilizers.

Preparation and recovery of N-hydrocarbylthiophosphoric triamides or

Aqueous ammoniate solutions made during the manufacture of N-hydrocarbyl thiophosphoric triamides, consisting essentially of aqueous solutions of ammonium chloride and ammonia containing a water-soluble impurity normally tending to engender corrosion of ferrous metal are rendered corrosion-resistant by dissolving therein a small corrosion-inhibiting amount (e.g., up to about 5000 ppm (wt/wt) of a water-soluble salt or oxide of zinc, aluminum, arsenic, antimony or bismuth.

Inhibiting ferrous metal corrosion by aqueous ammoniate solutions

A substantially anhydrous mixture which comprises ammonium chloride, the triamide, and ammonia is formed either by adding ammonia to a mixture of the other components or by conducting, in the presence of the ammonia and an organic solvent, a reaction to form the triamide and ammonium chloride as co-products. In all cases the ammonia is present in a sufficient excess amount relative to the ammonium chloride to form a separate liquid phase in which the ammonium chloride solids dissolve. Such separate liquid phase is separated from the remainder of said mixture.

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Baton Rouge, LA, United States of America

Chi Hung Cheng