Inventors:
Harvey Rosenhouse - East Windsor NJ
Jeffrey C. Dore - Hamilton Square NJ
Assignee:
FMC Corporation - Philadelphia PA
International Classification:
B01D 314
Abstract:
A continuous process for reducing the arsenic content of phosphorus is described in which the impure phosphorus is continually passed through a heat exchanger and heated to vaporize a portion of the phosphorus at a temperature not above 200. degree. C. , separating the vaporized phosphorus in a disengaging zone under subatmospheric pressure and introducing it into a fractionating zone under subatmospheric pressure, fractionating the phosphorus from the less volatile arsenic, condensing under subatmospheric pressure low-arsenic phosphorus rising from the fractionating zone, returning a portion of the low-arsenic phosphorus condensate as reflux to the column, removing high-arsenic liquid phosphorus as bottoms from the fractionating zone, and recovering the remaining portion of low-arsenic phosphorus condensate as product.