Process for separating oleic acid from linoleic acid
AssigneeUop LLC
InventorsMichael T. Cleary, Santi Kulprathipanja, Richard W. Neuzil
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Abstract
This invention comprises a process for separating oleic acid from a feed mixture comprising an oleic acid and linoleic acid, which process comprises contacting the mixture at separation conditions with a molecular sieve comprising silicalite, thereby selectively retaining the oleic acid. The oleic acid may be recovered from the molecular sieve by displacement with a displacement fluid. The feed mixture may also contain rosin acids in which case a first molecular sieve comprising silicalite is used to separate the fatty acids from the rosin acids.
Claims19
A process for separating oleic acid from linoleic acid contained in a feed mixture comprising said acids, said process comprising contacting said feed mixture at separation conditions with a molecular sieve comprising silicalite, thereby selectively retaining said oleic acid, and removing linoleic acid from the oleic acid containing molecular sieve.
A process for separating oleic acid from linoleic acid contained in a feed mixture comprising said acids, which process employs a molecular sieve comprising silicalite, which process comprises the steps of:
- (a) maintaining net liquid flow through a column of said molecular sieve in a single direction, which column contains at least three zones having separate operational functions occurring therein and being serially interconnected with the terminal zones of said column connected to provide a continuous connection of said zones;
- (b) maintaining a retention zone in said column, said zone defined by the molecular sieve located between a feed inlet stream at an upstream boundary of said zone and a raffinate outlet stream at a downstream boundary of said zone;
- (c) maintaining a purification zone immediately upstream from said retention zone, said purification zone defined by the molecular sieve located between an extract outlet stream at an upstream boundary of said purification zone and said feed inlet stream at a downstream boundary of said purification zone;
- (d) maintaining a displacement zone immediately upstream from said purification zone, said displacement zone defined by the molecular sieve located between a displacement fluid inlet stream at an upstream boundary of said zone and said extract outlet stream at a downstream boundary of said zone;
- (e) passing said feed inlet stream into said retention zone at separation conditions to effect the selective retention of oleic acid by said molecular sieve in said retention zone and withdrawing a raffinate outlet stream from said retention zone;
- (f) passing a displacement fluid into said displacement zone at displacement conditions to effect the displacement of said oleic acid from the adsorbent in said displacement zone;
- (g) withdrawing an extract stream comprising said oleic acid and displacement fluid from said displacement zone;
- (h) periodically advancing through said column of molecular sieve in a downstream direction with respect to fluid flow in said retention zone, the feed inlet stream, raffinate outlet stream, displacement fluid inlet stream, and extract outlet and raffinate outlet streams.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.