Claims
- 1. A process for producing high melting mesogens, said process comprising:
combining a first aromatic carbon solvent system having boiling points in the atmospheric equivalent boiling point (AEBP) range of about 285° to about 500° C., at least 80% of the carbon atoms of said hydrocarbons are aromatic as characterized by carbon 13 NMR and said aromatic hydrocarbons are selected from the group consisting of (i) aromatic compounds and N, O and S heteroaromatic compounds having 2 to 5 rings, (ii) substituted aromatic compounds and N, O and S heteroaromatic compounds having 2 to 5 rings wherein said substituents are alkyl groups having 1 to 3 carbons (C1 to C3), (iii) hydroaromatic compounds and N, O and S heterohydroaromatic compounds having 2 to 5 rings, (iv) substituted hydroaromatic compounds and N, O and S heterohydroaromatic compounds having 2 to 5 rings wherein said substituents are alkyl groups having 1 to 3 carbons (C1 to C3), and (v) mixtures thereof with a second solvent system having a solubility parameter in the range of 8 to 11.5, the ratio of said first solvent system to said second solvent system ranging from 1:20 to 2:5 to form an extraction solution; adding said extraction solution to a pitch in a solution to pitch ratio ranging from about 3:1 to about 20:1; and extracting said pitch with said extraction solution to yield a residue of mesogens, said mesogens melting at or above a temperature of 375° C.
- 2. A solvated mesophase pitch which comprises:
mesogens; and 5 to 40% of a solvating component comprising a mixture of aromatic hydrocarbons having boiling points in the atmospheric equivalent boiling point (AEBP) range of about 285° to about 500° C., at least 80% of the carbon atoms of said hydrocarbons are aromatic as characterized by carbon 13 NMR and said aromatic hydrocarbons are selected from the group consisting of (i) aromatic compounds and N, O and S heteroaromatic compounds having 2 to 5 rings, (ii) substituted aromatic compounds and N, O and S heteroaromatic compounds having 2 to 5 rings wherein said substituents are alkyl groups having 1 to 3 carbons (C1 to C3), (iii) hydroaromatic compounds and N, O and S heterohydroaromatic compounds having 2 to 5 rings, (iv) substituted hydroaromatic compounds and N, O and S heterohydroaromatic compounds having 2 to 5 rings wherein said substituents are alkyl groups having 1 to 3 carbons (C1 to C3), and (v) mixtures thereof.
- 3. A solvated mesophase pitch as set forth in claim 2, wherein said solvating component is a thermally treated decant oil fraction.
- 4. A solvated mesophase pitch as set forth in claim 2, wherein at least 85% of the carbon atoms of said solvating component are aromatic carbon atoms.
- 5. The solvated mesophase pitch of claim 2, wherein at least 80% of the compounds of said solvating component boil within plus or minus 60° C. of the mean boiling point of said solvating component.
- 6. The solvated mesophase pitch of claim 2 which when spun into a fiber yields a green fiber having a diameter of less than 13 microns.
- 7. A process for producing a thermally cracked aromatic solvating component of a solvated mesophase pitch comprising the steps of:
selecting an aromatic hydrocarbon having less than 80% by weight of aromatic carbons; thermally cracking said aromatic hydrocarbon at a temperature of 400° to 540° C. and a pressure of up to 1000 psig for a time sufficient to increase the carbon content to greater than 80%; and fractionating said thermally cracked aromatic hydrocarbon to obtain a distillate boiling in the range of 285° to 500° C.
- 8. A green fiber comprising solvated mesophase pitch having a diameter of less than 13 microns.
CROSS-REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a division of application Ser. No.09/873,754 filed on Jun. 4,2001, which is incorporated herein by reference. This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/211,439, filed Jun. 13, 2000.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60211439 |
Jun 2000 |
US |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09873754 |
Jun 2001 |
US |
Child |
10720416 |
Nov 2003 |
US |