Disulfide Solvent Odor Management via Blend and Oxidant
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Solution Overview
Problem
The excessive odor of disulfide solvents, such as dimethyl disulfide, poses operational difficulties in dissolving elemental sulfur, making them impractical for use due to the need for extensive engineering controls, and the scarcity of diaryl disulfide limits its availability as a suitable replacement.
Innovation Solution
A solvent blend comprising a disulfide solvent, an amine solvent, a ketone solvent, and an ester solvent is used to maintain odor balance, with additional ester solvent added to restore balance and convert biphasic mixtures into emulsions, and oxidants applied to odor-imbalanced surfaces to convert malodorous sulfur compounds into less volatile forms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If disulfide solvents are used to dissolve elemental sulfur, then dissolution capability is improved, but odor intensity increases to unacceptable levels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an odor control agent as an intermediary substance that interacts with the disulfide solvent to neutralize or mask the harmful odor. The odor control agent serves as a mediator between the disulfide solvent and the environment, allowing the solvent to maintain its sulfur-dissolving function while the odor control agent handles the odor management, thus resolving the contradiction between dissolution capability and odor intensity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite solvent system by combining the disulfide solvent with an odor control agent. This composite material integrates the functional properties of the disulfide solvent (sulfur dissolution) with the odor-mitigating properties of the control agent, resulting in a unified system that simultaneously achieves both dissolution capability and acceptable odor levels.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If extensive engineering controls are implemented to preclude discharge of disulfide solvent, then odor discharge is reduced, but operational complexity and cost increase to impractical levels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful odor property of the disulfide solvent into a manageable characteristic by adding an odor control agent. Instead of treating the odor as a harmful factor requiring complex engineering controls, the solution transforms the odor management into a chemical modification of the solvent system itself, thereby eliminating the need for extensive engineering controls while still achieving odor discharge reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The odor control agent enables the solvent system to self-regulate its odor emissions without requiring external engineering controls. The control agent is incorporated into the solvent system, allowing it to automatically manage its own odor discharge characteristics, thus eliminating the need for complex external control systems.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If diaryl disulfide is used as a replacement solvent, then odor is reduced to acceptable levels, but availability becomes limited due to curtailed commercial production
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the parameters of the disulfide solvent system by adding an odor control agent, rather than changing the fundamental solvent identity. This parameter change approach allows the use of readily available disulfide solvents (like dimethyl disulfide) while adjusting the system's odor characteristics through the control agent, thus maintaining solvent availability while achieving acceptable odor levels.
4Quantity of substance
If dimethyl disulfide is used as a replacement solvent, then sulfur dissolution capability is maintained, but operational challenges arise due to extreme odor
Solution Approach 1:
The odor control agent acts as an intermediary that allows dimethyl disulfide to maintain its excellent sulfur dissolution capability while the control agent handles the odor management. This intermediary approach preserves the operational advantages of dimethyl disulfide (high sulfur solubility) while eliminating the operational challenges (extreme odor) through the mediating function of the control agent.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solvent blend effectively suppresses the odor of disulfide solvents, maintaining their dissolution capabilities while reducing odor intensity, and the methods address odor imbalance in both solvent blends and surfaces, facilitating safer and more practical use.
Implementation Method 1
contacting the odor imbalanced surface with an oxidant to convert the one or more sulfur compounds in a higher oxidation state
Implementation Method 2
hydrolyzing at least a portion of the at least one ester solvent under conditions that afford a biphasic mixture comprising a heavy phase and a light phase
Implementation Method 3
dissolving at least a portion of the elemental sulfur in the solvent blend
Data Source
AI summary
Disulfide solvents may be particularly effective for dissolving deposits comprising elemental sulfur, but the extreme odor of these solvent may make their use rather problematic. Solvent blends comprising at least one disulfide solvent, amine solvent, ketone solvent, and ester solvent may afford a less obnoxious odor and not appreciably compromise the sulfur dissolution capabilities. Surfaces contacted with such solvent blends or at least partially spent variants thereof may exhibit excessive odor due to loss of one or more of the amine, ketone, or ester solvents. Excessive odor resulting from a solvent residue upon a surface may be alleviated by contacting the surface with at least one oxidant. Odor balance may also be restored to at least partially spent solvent blends by introducing additional ester solvent, which may convert a biphasic mixture into an emulsion comprising the disulfide solvent.