Abstract:
In the separation of aluminium alkyl compound from white mineral oil by oxidizing the aluminium alkyl compound with air to transform aluminium alkyl compound into aluminium alkoxide, and then hydrolyzing with sulfuric acid to change aluminium alkoxide into aluminium sulfate which can readily be separated from white mineral oil, the control over the oxidizing condition is critical in obtaining highest yield of aluminium alkoxide. The oxidation stage should be performed for short period of time and at low speed of agitation and also without activation from heat. In the case of intense oxidation, the by-product in the form of aluminium hydrate results. The aluminium hydrate does not react with sulfuric acid (at normal temperature) to produce the desired product, but conversely it can form a polyhydrate compound (at high temperature or at prolonged time), resulting in the decline of separation efficiency. Moreover, the addition of isopropanol to enhance the efficiency of oxidation stage has adversely affected the hydrolysis resulting in a lower overall effectiveness of separation.