Patent ID: 6358402
Filing Date: 2002-03-19
Classification: C10G

Abstract:
A process for separating a sulfur species from an organic feedstream comprising:providing a liquid phase organic feedstream comprising a first concentration of sulfur species, said sulfur species having a first volatility and a remainder of said organic feedstream having a second volatility which is substantially the same as said first volatility rendering it difficult to separate said sulfur species from said remainder of said organic feedstream; and contacting said liquid phase organic feedstream with a liquid phase sulfur-selective solvent under extractive distillation conditions effective to decrease said first volatility to produce an overhead product comprising a second concentration of sulfur species that is less than said first concentration and a bottoms product comprising a third concentration of said sulfur species that is more than said first concentration, wherein the sulfur-selective solvent is selected from solvents having polar forces (&dgr;p) and hydrogen bonding forces (&dgr;H) that satisfy the following equations: &dgr;p>1.45 &dgr;Hâ€ƒâ€ƒ1) (&dgr;p)2+(&dgr;H)2>190.â€ƒâ€ƒ2)