Process for cleaning vessels containing sulfur dichloride
AssigneeOccidental Chemical Corporation
InventorMark J. Stodolka
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Abstract
A process for cleaning vessels containing liquid sulfur dichloride is disclosed. The sulfur dichloride is first removed from the vessel leaving a heel (residue) of liquid and solid material on the bottom of the vessel. The remaining liquid is vaporized by heating the vessel, and the vapors are removed by vacuum and purging, and neutralized by reaction with a basic solution. The vessel is purged with a dry inert gas during heating to prevent exothermic reactions and the formation of toxic reaction products, and to assist in removal of vapors from the vessel. The solid residue remaining in the vessel is then removed from both the bottom and wall portions. In a preferred aspect, the present invention is particularly applicable to cleaning railroad tank cars which are used to transport sulfur dichloride.
Claims16
A process for cleaning vessels containing liquid sulfur dichloride comprising the steps of:
- (a) removing substantially all of the liquid sulfur dichloride from the vessel leaving a solids-containing liquid slurry on the bottom of the vessel,
- (b) heating the contents of the vessel in the presence of an inert gas to a temperature sufficient to vaporize the liquid remaining in the vessel leaving a solid residue,
- (c) removing the vapor from the vessel by vacuum,
- (d) neutralizing the vapor, and
- (e) removing the solid residue from the bottom of the vessel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.