Bruce D Degen

US Patent:

40565998, Nov 1, 1977

Filed:

Oct 20, 1975

Appl. No.:

5/624028

Inventors:

Joseph M. Fox - Lafayette CA
Bruce D. Degen - Bolinas CA
Irving Leibson - Alamo CA

Assignee:

Bechtel International Corporation - San Francisco CA

International Classification:

C01F 530

US Classification:

423178

Abstract:

Carnallite, comprising principally of MgCl. sub. 2. KCl. 6H. sub. 2 O, with varying amounts of sodium chloride and other impurities, is dissolved in a lower saturated monohydric aliphatic alcohol having from one to four carbon atoms such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopropyl alcohol, N-butyl alcohol, secondary-butyl alcohol, iso-butyl alcohol, and tert-butyl alcohol, to dissolve the magnesium chloride therein leaving an insoluble residue of principally potassium chloride, sodium chloride and other materials. The residue is filtered from the solution, dried and stored or further processed. The filtrate, a magnesium chloride hydrate solution is further processed by injecting steam or water into the solution and removing, e. g. , evaporating the methanol from the solution leaving an aqueous magnesium chloride hexahydrate brine. The recovered methanol is dried by distillation, condensed and recycled.