Patent ID: 8003842

Claim:
A process for the separation of benzene from other hydrocarbons in a hydrocarbon mixture, the process comprising: (a) combining said hydrocarbon mixture with a diluent liquid solution having a boiling point which is higher than that of the hydrocarbon mixture, and passing said hydrocarbon mixture combined with said diluent liquid solution to a distillation column of a distillation stage, said distillation column comprising an adsorption zone packed with a solid adsorbent which is in contact with the diluent liquid solution; (b) withdrawing from said distillation stage a distillate stream containing other hydrocarbons than benzene and retaining benzene in the adsorption zone, wherein said adsorption zone contains zeolite X, zeolite Y, or mixtures of both; and (c) withdrawing from said distillation stage a stream containing said diluent liquid solution and subsequently returning said stream directly back to the distillation column of step (a).