Separation of cyclohexylbenzene from a cyclohexylbenzene-cyclohexanone-phenol admixture

A process for the separation of an admixture of cyclohexylbenzene, phenol, and cyclohexanone, which comprises:

• (a) contacting said admixture under liquid-liquid extraction conditions with amounts and proportions of at least one nonpolar hydrocarbon solvent and at least one polar solvent effective to produce a two-phase admixture comprising a polar phase comprising said polar solvent and rich in phenol and cyclohexanone, and a hydrocarbon phase comprising said hydrocarbon solvent and rich in cyclohexylbenzene and lean in phenol and cyclohexanone.
• wherein said hydrocarbon solvent is selected from acyclic or cyclic saturated hydrocarbons of 5 to 25 carbon atoms per molecule and said polar solvent is:
• ##STR3## or mixtures of (I) or (II) with water, wherein each of R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.4, R.sub.5, R.sub.6, R.sub.7, R.sub.8, R.sub.9, is hydrogen or an alkyl radical of 1 to 10 carbon atoms per radical, and wherein n is an integer of 2 to 5,
• (b) phase separating said two-phase admixture into said polar phase and said hydrocarbon phase,
• (c) fractionally distilling said polar phase to produce a recycle polar solvent stream, and a first recovery stream of phenol and cyclohexanone,
• (d) fractionally distilling said hydrocarbon phase to produce a recycle hydrocarbon solvent stream, and a second recovery stream rich in cyclohexylbenzene, and lean in phenol and cyclohexanone,
• (e) fractionally distilling said second recovery stream to produce a stream of cyclohexylbenzene product, and a recycle stream of residual cyclohexylbenzene, phenol, and cyclohexanone for recycle to said liquid-liquid extraction step,
• (f) recycling said recycle polar solvent stream to said contacting step (a),
• (g) recycling said recycle hydrocarbon solvent stream to said contacting step (a), and
• (h) recycling said residual stream of cyclohexylbenzene, phenol, and cyclohexanone to said contacting step (a).