PATENTS

       56.       ------.  [ATWELL, H. V.]  (The Texas Co.).  Method of Synthesizing Gasoline and the Like.  United States Patent 2,535,343. Dec. 26, 1950: appl. Filed July 27, 1946, Serial No. 686,655: 10 claims (Cl. 260-449.6).

Temperature is controlled by direct contact evaporative cooling.  Effluent is split into 2 streams.  One is diverted to a product recovery system, the other is further divided into two portions.  One is contacted with a cooling liquid that is a selective absorbent for H₂O or CO₂.  The cooled uncondensed gas from this treatment is combined with the remaining portion to condense the higher boiling constituents in the form of a fog dispersed throughout the uncondensed gas.  A stream of this mixture of gas and highly atomized liquid is recycled to the reaction zone where the atomized liquid components serve as evaporative coolant.  Reduction of H₂O concentration in the recycle stream by using ethylene glycol as coolant reduces CO₂ formation.  A CO₂ absorbent, such as monoethanolamine, may replace or be used in addition to the H₂O absorbent.  Normally at recycle ratio, expressed as volume of recycle gas per volume fresh feed, of 1:1 or 2:1 is used.  1 foreign and 6 United States patents cited.