Process for separating mercaptans from caustic

1. A process for separating mercaptan compounds from a rich caustic stream, comprising, in combination,

a) feeding solvent, an oxygen containing fluid, and a stream of rich caustic containing mercaptan compounds to a single tower having a top section containing an oxidizer and a bottom section containing at least two contactors comprising fibers in series below the oxidizer;

b) contacting the stream from step a) with a catalyst in the oxidizer to oxidize the mercaptan compounds to disulfide oil (DSO) at a conversion level of 90% or greater in the presence of oxygen and forming an admixture comprising DSO, solvent, and caustic;

c) directing the admixture formed in step b) from the oxidizer as a single stream to a first separation section within the single tower where the admixture contacts a bundle of vertical hanging fibers;

d) separating the DSO and solvent from the caustic within the first separation section by allowing the admixture to flow through the bundle of fibers to form two distinct liquid layers, a first lower layer comprising a caustic phase and an first upper layer comprising a DSO/solvent phase, in a first collection zone;

e) continuously removing a portion of the DSO/solvent phase from the first separation section;

f) continuously removing a portion of the caustic phase and mixing with fresh solvent to form a second separation feed that is fed to a second separation section within the single tower where it contacts a second bundle of vertical hanging fibers;

g) separating any remaining DSO and solvent from the caustic within the second separation section by allowing the second separation feed to flow through the bundle of fibers in the second separation section to form two distinct liquid layers, a second lower layer comprising a caustic phase and an second upper layer comprising a DSO/solvent phase, in a second collection zone;

h) continuously removing a portion of the DSO/solvent phase from the second separation section and recycling it as the solvent of step a); and

i) continuously removing a lean caustic stream from the second lower layer.

2. The process of claim 1 where the stream of rich caustic containing mercaptan compounds is oxidized by contacting the stream with a solid bed containing a metal supported catalyst.

3. The process of claim 1 where residual gas is removed as offgas in the first separation section.

4. A counter-current process for separating mercaptan compounds from a rich caustic stream, comprising, in combination,

a) feeding solvent, an oxygen containing fluid, and a stream of rich caustic containing mercaptan compounds to a single tower having a top section containing an oxidizer and a bottom section containing at least three separation sections containing contactors comprising fibers in series below the top section;

b) contacting the stream from step a) with a catalyst in the oxidizer to oxidize the mercaptan compounds to disulfide oil (DSO) at a conversion level of 90% or greater in the presence of oxygen and forming an admixture comprising DSO, solvent, and caustic;

c) directing the admixture formed in step b) from the oxidizer as a single stream to a first separation section within the single tower where the admixture contacts a bundle of vertical hanging fibers;

d) separating the DSO and solvent from the caustic within the first separation section by allowing the admixture to flow through the bundle of fibers to form two distinct liquid layers, a first lower layer comprising a caustic phase and an first upper layer comprising a DSO/solvent phase, in a first collection zone;

e) continuously removing a portion of the DSO/solvent phase from the first separation section;

f) continuously removing a portion of the caustic phase and mixing with a DSO/solvent stream removed from a third separation section to form a second separation feed that is fed to a second separation section within the single tower where it contacts a second bundle of vertical hanging fibers;

g) separating any remaining DSO and solvent from the caustic within the second separation section by allowing the second separation feed to flow through the bundle of fibers in the second separation section to form two distinct liquid layers, a second lower layer comprising a caustic phase and an second upper layer comprising a DSO/solvent phase, in a second collection zone;

h) continuously removing a portion of the DSO/solvent phase from the second separation section and recycling it as the solvent of step a);

i) continuously removing a caustic stream from the second lower layer and mixing with fresh solvent to form a third separation feed that is fed to a third separation section within the single tower where it contacts a third bundle of vertical hanging fibers;

j) separating any remaining DSO and solvent from the caustic within the third separation section by allowing the third separation feed to flow through the bundle of fibers in the third separation section to form two distinct liquid layers, a third lower layer comprising a caustic phase and a third upper layer comprising a DSO/solvent phase, in a third collection zone;

k) continuously removing a portion of the DSO/solvent phase from the third collection zone to be mixed with the caustic phase in step f); and

l) continuously removing a lean caustic stream from the third lower layer in the third collection zone.

5. A counter-current process for separating mercaptan compounds from a rich caustic stream, comprising, in combination,

a) feeding solvent, an oxygen containing fluid, and a stream of rich caustic containing mercaptan compounds to a single tower having a top section containing an oxidizer and a bottom section containing at least four separation sections containing contactors comprising fibers in series below the top section;

b) contacting the stream from step a) with a catalyst in the oxidizer to oxidize the mercaptan compounds to disulfide oil (DSO) at a conversion level of 90% or greater in the presence of oxygen and forming an admixture comprising DSO, solvent, and caustic;

c) directing the admixture formed in step b) from the oxidizer as a single stream to a first separation section within the single tower where the admixture contacts a bundle of vertical hanging fibers;

d) separating the DSO and solvent from the caustic within the first separation section by allowing the admixture to flow through the bundle of fibers to form two distinct liquid layers, a first lower layer comprising a caustic phase and an first upper layer comprising a DSO/solvent phase, in a first collection zone;

e) continuously removing a portion of the DSO/solvent phase from the first separation section;

f) continuously removing a portion of the caustic phase from the first collection zone and mixing with a DSO/solvent stream removed from a third separation section to form a second separation feed that is fed to a second separation section within the single tower where it contacts a second bundle of vertical hanging fibers;

g) separating any remaining DSO and solvent from the caustic within the second separation section by allowing the second separation feed to flow through the bundle of fibers in the second separation section to form two distinct liquid layers, a second lower layer comprising a caustic phase and an second upper layer comprising a DSO/solvent phase, in a second collection zone;

h) continuously removing a portion of the DSO/solvent phase from the second separation section and recycling it as the solvent of step a);

i) continuously removing a caustic stream from the second lower layer and mixing with a DSO/solvent stream removed from a fourth separation section to form a third separation feed that is fed to a third separation section within the single tower where it contacts a third bundle of vertical hanging fibers;

j) separating any remaining DSO and solvent from the caustic within the third separation section by allowing the third separation feed to flow through the bundle of fibers in the third separation section to form two distinct liquid layers, a third lower layer comprising a caustic phase and a third upper layer comprising a DSO/solvent phase, in a third collection zone;

k) continuously removing a portion of the DSO/solvent phase from the third collection zone to be mixed with the caustic phase in step f);

l) continuously removing a caustic stream from the third lower layer in the third collection and mixing with fresh solvent to form a fourth separation feed that is fed to a fourth separation section within the single tower where it contacts a fourth bundle of vertical hanging fibers;

m) separating any remaining DSO and solvent from the caustic within the fourth separation section by allowing the fourth separation feed to flow through the bundle of fibers in the fourth separation section to form two distinct liquid layers, a fourth lower layer comprising a caustic phase and a fourth upper layer comprising a DSO/solvent phase, in a fourth collection zone;

n) continuously removing a portion of the DSO/solvent phase from the fourth collection zone to be mixed with the caustic phase in step i); and

o) continuously removing a lean caustic stream from the fourth lower layer in the fourth collection zone.