Rhodia Limited

Philip Dean Hill

Thomas Edwin Pruitt

Forrest Lee Sanders

Bruno Langlois

Gilles Guerin

Richard Wai-Chun Liu

Albert Yi Yang

A method for purifying a spent acid catalyst from an acid catalyzed chemical reaction that generates a mixture of a product, spent add and tar, includes the steps of separating the mixture of product, spent acid, and tar into a product fraction and a spent acid fraction, said spent acid fraction comprising a mixture of spent acid and tar, and separating the spent acid fraction, by flotation separation, centrifugation, or liquid-liquid coalescence, into a tar fraction and a de-tarred spent acid fraction. The fluidized tar and the de-tarred spent acid can each be further processed to produce concentrated acid.

Method for purifying spent acid

There is a process for removing by-product tar during the manufacture of isopropyl alcohol. The process comprises the following: a) reacting propylene with concentrated sulfuric acid and water to form isopropyl alcohol and a spent acid having a by-product tar; b) capturing at least a portion of the isopropyl alcohol; c) contacting the spent acid with a gas in bubble form; d) allowing a least a portion of the tar to separate from the remainder of the spent acid to form a layer of tar and a layer of cleaned acid solution; e) capturing the tar; and h) recycling the cleaned acid solution to step a) as a source of sulfuric acid. There is also a process for removing by-product tar during the manufacture of methyl ethyl ketone. The process is substantially the same except that 1-butene is substituted for propylene. There is also a process for removing tar from a spent acid.

Process for removing tar from spent acid

Process for the preparation of an aqueous tar suspoemulsion by mixing a mixture including (a) a viscous tar composition formed from a tar, from inorganic solids and, optionally, from water, (b) water (W), (c) a surface-active agent (SA) exhibiting an HLB of at least 10 and, optionally, (d) a thickening water-soluble polymer (TWP) with a molecular mass of greater than 10,000, the relative amounts of constituents (W), (SA) and, optionally, (TWP) being such that the viscosity of the (W)&plus;(SA)&plus;optional (TWP) mixture is preferably equal to or greater than the viscosity of the said tar, and then optional dilution of the mixture obtained with water or with an aqueous acidic solution. The process is particularly advantageous when applied to to the residues, containing sulphuric acid, resulting from the synthesis of white oils from petroleum fractions. The present invention further relates to a method for fluidizing acidic tars/sludges including contacting the tar/sludge with sulfuric acid and a surfactant. Optionally, a carrier for the surfactant's incorporation into the tar/sludge can be utilized. This provides an effective process for cleaning sulfuric acid tars/sludges from containers/vessels such as transportation containers, pipes and storage tanks. Preferably, the process includes the additional step of regeneration of sulfuric acid from the fluidized tar/sludge.

Method for fluidizing tars

A process for the preparation of an aqueous tar suspoemulsion includes the steps of mixing a mixture including (a) a viscous tar composition formed from a tar, from inorganic solids and, optionally, from water; (b) water (W); (c) a surface-active agent (SA) exhibiting a hydrophilicity/lipophilicity balance (HLB) of at least 10; and, optionally, (d) a thickening water-soluble polymer (TWP) with a molecular mass of greater than 10,000. The relative amounts of constituents (W), (SA) and, optionally, (TWP) are such that the viscosity of the (W)&plus;(SA)&plus;optional (TWP) mixture is preferably equal to or greater than the viscosity of the tar. An optional embodiment of the process provides for dilution of the mixture obtained with water or with an aqueous acidic solution. By virtue of providing a pumpable medium, the process is particularly advantageous for cleaning sulfuric acid tars/sludges from containers/vessels such as transportation containers, pipes, and storage tanks, without the necessity of placing personnel in intimate physical contact with the material to be removed.

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Baton Rouge, LA, United States of America

Philip Dean Hill