Phillips Petroleum Company

Terry D Brown

Marion T O'Shaughnessy

Patrick Rooney

Jeffrey A Russell

Sulfonated asphalt is produced by heating an asphaltic material, preferably having a softening point between about 315.degree. F. and 350.degree. F., by mixing the asphalt with a solvent, such as hexane, sulfonating the asphalt with a liquid sulfonating agent, such as liquid sulfur trioxide, neutralizing the sulfonic acids with a basic neutralizing agent, such as sodium hydroxide, separating solvent from the sulfonated asphalt, preferably by passing the same through a wiped film evaporator, recovering the evaporated solvent for reuse, preferably by passing the same in indirect heat exchange with a closed cycle refrigerant, recovering solvent from vapors from the sulfonation and neutralization steps by either scrubbing with neutalizing agent or sulfuric acid or by passing the same through fiber-type filter means and, thereafter, passing the same to the refrigeration step and drying the separated, sulfonated asphalt, preferably by passage through a drum dryer, and separating particle-form sulfonated asphalt from the vapors from the drum dryer, preferably by passing the same through a cyclone separator. Preferably the process is a batch-type process in which the rates of flow of the solvent, the asphaltic material, the sulfonating agent and the neutralizing agent and the periods of time prior to withdrawal of the sulfonic acids and the sulfonated asphalt are coordinated in accordance with a predetermined time cycle.

Production of sulfonated asphalt

An olefin is polymerized in a hydrocarbon diluent in a turbulent reaction zone to produce particles of polymer which are substantially insoluble in the diluent. Fouling of the reactor by adherence of polymer particles to the walls of the reactor is reduced by adding to the reaction medium a composition which comprises a mixture of an aluminum or chromium salt of an alkyl salicylic acid and an alkali metal alkyl sulfosuccinate.

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Bartlesville, OK, United States of America

Terry D Brown