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Oct. 21, 1969 D. M. E. 3,474,030 PREVENING SO RESIN FORMATION WITH A SULFOLANE Filed Oct. 9, 1967 f O O n S. NO WISO r W?? WA Q i? 1 a O r Q r C " ? l (? - 2 st e3 r g ( NOW T LSO ) SP & y (T)w 5 > < n Q - ( c O cy P O (? CO w o (f) 7: (s OW&WS ) O) O 3. R k N i 1 ? k y CO s m Yn C - CO s aa ( SS 2 Ele=E c l N 5: N NOLOW X3 NBA OS c INVENTOR. D. M. LTTLE BY y C Year A 77OAPAWAYS 3,474,030 United States Patent Office Patented Oct. 21, 1969 2 A further object of this invention is to minimize the 3,474,030 formation of resinous deposits during the operation of PREVENTING SO, RESIN FORMATION a unit employing SO2 and to provide a practical method WITH A SULFOLANE Donald M. Little, Bartlesville, Okla., assignor to Phillips for removing resinous materials inadvertently formed dur Petroleum Company, a corporation of Delaware 5 ing operation of the process. Filed Oct. 9, 1967, Ser. No. 673,607 Other objects, aspects as well as the several advantages Int. C. C10g 21/10, 21/22 of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the U.S. C. 208-338 8 Claims art upon reading the specification, drawing, and the ap pended claims. O Summary of the invention ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE According to the invention, I have found that resinous Dissolution of resinous materials formed from SO2 and materials formed from SO2 and unsaturated materials unsaturated materials coming in contact with SO2, for ex contained in hydrocarbon oils coming in contact with SO ample, during the SO2 solvent extraction of hydrocarbon can be dissolved by contacting with at least one sulfolane. mixtures by contacting the resinous materials at an ele 5 Further, according to the invention, the formation of wated temperature with a sulfoliane. resinous deposits in SO2 extraction units is minimized and resinous deposits formed during extraction are dis Solved by carrying out the SO2 extraction in the presence Background of the invention of a Sulfolane which dissolves resinous deposits present This invention relates to the operation of processing 20 therein. equipment wherein the formation of resinous deposits is More specifically, according to the invention, sulfolane minimized and resinous deposits inadvertently formed are is introduced into the solvent extract phase before it is removed by dissolution with a solvent. In another aspect, chilled in the chiller so that deposition of resinous mate this invention relates to the provision of means and 25 rials in the extract phase being chilled is prevented. method whereby certain fouling of equipment due to res Further, in accordance with the invention, an extract inous deposits in an extraction unit can be substantially produced by solvent extracting cracked gas oil with avoided. A further aspect of this invention relates to the liquid Sulfur dioxide which contains resinous materials Substantial avoidance of resinous deposits within or upon formed during the extraction are removed from the ex heating or cooling or other surfaces of chiller means in 30 tract phase by a multiple step process comprising (a) in corporated in a SO2 extraction unit for the purpose of jecting a Sulfolane into the extract phase to dissolve the chilling the extract produced therein. In still a further resins, (b) Subjecting the extract phase containing sulfo aspect, this invention relates to the dissolution of SO2 lane and dissolved resinous materials to SO recovery, resinous materials formed from SO2 and unsaturated (c) injecting water into the remaining extract oil, (d) materials contained in mixtures coming in contact with separating from the water phase the oil phase which is SO2 by dissolving with a sulfolane. Subsequently dehydrated and recovered as product ex The use of a liquid Sulfur dioxide extraction for the tract, (e) distilling the water phase of (b) to remove removal of aromatic constituents from hydrocarbon oils SO2 and water, (f) subjecting the distillation residue to containing aromatics such as cycle oils recovered from vacuum distillation to recover sulfolane for recycle, and catalytic and thernal cracking units is now practiced in 40 (g) recovering the resinous materials from the vacuum the petroleum industry. These units can be used for sev distillation unit. eral purposes, such as improving the quality in catalytic cracking unit feed stocks, or for production of concen Description of preferred embodiments trated aromatic fractions, such as raw materials for the Sulfolanes that can be employed according to the in production of chemicals, and for the production of car vention for dissolving SO2 resinous materials have the bon black. formula In an SO2 extraction unit, oil, SO and unsaturated compounds contained in the oil combine to form resins. These resins have little or no solubility in oil, SO2, or common organic solvents and generally are deposited in 50 RC-CR equipment such as coolers, heaters, reboilers, etc., fouling R OR. the equipment, thus causing shut downs for clean out. SO In accordance with the present invention, it has been found that certain solvents are effective for the removal of resinous deposits, particularly the resinous deposits 55 formed in SO2 extraction units, thus facilitating equip wherein R is hydrogen or alkyl groups of 1-5 carbon ment clean out and reducing down time of the extrac atoms per molecule. tion unit. Some suitable specific sulfolanes that can be employed Accordingly, the object of this invention is to provide having the above-defined formula include sulfolane (tetra a method for dissolving resins formed from SO2 and un 60 hydrothiophene 1,1-dioxide), 2-methyl-sulfolane, 3-meth saturated materials. yl-sulfolane, 2-ethyl-sulfolane, 3,4-dimethyl-sulfolane, 2,5- Another object of this invention is to provide a Solvent dimethyl-sulfolane, 2,4-dimethyl-sulfolane, 2-methyl-5- that will dissolve resinous deposits from equipment uti ethyl-sulfolane, 3-propyl-Sulfolane, 2-pentyl-Sulfolane, 3 lized for SO2 extractions. butyl-sulfolane, and the like, and mixtures thereof. 3,474,030 3 4. The amount of sulfolane employed to dissolve the SO2 deposition of resinous materials within the chiller zone resinous materials will vary appreciably depending upon and extraction column, and will generally be less than various factors including the type of hydrocarbon oil about 10 weight percent of the extract oil yield, prefer being subjected to SO2 extraction, the conditions for ably not more than about 5 weight percent. carrying out the extraction, and the like. Ordinarily the In some operations, the bottom zone of the extraction amount of sulfolane introduced into the SO2 extraction column, may be maintained as low as about 30 F. in unit will be about 1 to 15 weight percent of the SO or order to improve the aromaticity of the extract. Even at about 3 to 10 weight percent of the extract oil yield. this low temperature, the added sulfolane dissolves or The sulfolanes employed for dissolving the SO2 resin maintains in solution this resinous material. ous materials according to the invention have been found O The sulfolane functions to dissolve resinous materials to be most effective when contacting of the resinous mate formed in the SO2 extraction unit and is removed along rials is effected at elevated temperatures. It is feasible to with the extract phase by way of line 14. The extract phase utilize the sulfolanes at temperatures up to their boiling is passed to SO2 removal unit 21 wherein the SO2 is point. However, for practical reasons and more effective stripped from the extract phase and removed from unit dissolution of SO2 resinous materials, the temperature for 21 by way of line 22 and passed to condensation or re contacting of the SO2 resinous materials will ordinarily cycle for reuse in column 11. be in the range of 200-450 F. However, lower tem The extract phase containing sulfolane and dissolved peratures can be used. resinous materials is removed from zone 21 by line 23, The operation of a liquid sulfur dioxide extraction unit contacted with water introduced by way of line 24, and utilizing the invention is illustrated schematically in the the mixture thus formed is passed through line 25 to sepa drawing. ration zone 26. In separation Zone 26 the water phase is Oil charge, which can be cycle oil from a cracking op removed by way of line 27 and an oil phase by way of eration, is passed through conduit 10 into sulfur dioxide line 28. The oil phase removed by line 28 can be sub extraction column 1. In column 11, the cycle oil which jected to drying and recovery of aromatic extract product. has been introduced at a locus intermediate the ends of 25 The water phase in line 27 is heated by way of heater the column, is admixed with liquid Sulfur dioxide charged 29 and passed to distillation zone 30. In distillation zone to an upper portion of the column by conduit 12, form 30 water and SO2 are removed overhead by way of line ing a raffinate phase and an extract phase. In the column, 3 and sulfolane and dissolved resinous materials by way the raffinate phase, consisting essentially of non-aromatic of line 32. Sulfolane and dissolved resinous materials are constituents of the cycle oil and a small amount of sulfur 30 heated by heater 33 and introduced into vacuum distilla dioxide, travels upwardly. This raffinate phase is removed tion unit 34 by way of line 35. The resinous materials from tower 11 by way of conduit 13. Upon removal are removed by way of line 36 and sulfolane by way of from column 11 the raffinate solution is treated by means line 37.