Abstract:
Presently there is a world-wide shortage of petro-leum waxes, Due to their many and diverse applications, there is considerable interest in the production of these waxes from traditional sources as well as to find new sources for their manufacture. Petroleum refiners are concentrating more and more on improving the existing dewaxing and deoiling .processes to increase the production of these petroleum products with suitable functional properties for varied end uses.
Processes employed for the production of refined wax are aimed at deoiling the petroleum wax aoncentrate known as slack wax, a co-product from dewaxing unit. These processes(1) are physical in nature gad are similar to those used in dewaxing of lubricating oil fractions, often varying only in the choice of treating conditions. Solvent deoiling, like solvent dewaxing, is by far the most wid-)ly used process for the production of refined wax of low oil content.
Ketones have since long been described as good dewaxing and deoiling solvents by virtue of their low solubility for n-paraffin type waxes and relatively higher filtration rates(2). Choice of a particular deoiling solvent depends upon its miscibility with oil, solubility of wax in it, rate of filtration, latent heat of evaporation, boiling.............
