Manufacture of tetraethyllead

Claim 1

THE CONTINUOUS PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURE AND RECOVERY OF TETRAETHYLLEAD COMPRISING FEEDING A SODIUM-LEAD ALLOY AND AN ETHYL CHLORIDE RECYCLE STREAM, HEREAFTER DEFINED, TO AN ETHYLATION ZONE, THE RECYCLE STREAM CONTAINING AT LEAST SEVEN TIMES THE ETHYL CHLORIDE REQUIRED FOR THE ETHYLATION REACTION, ETHYLATING IN THE ETHYLATION ZONE UNDER AGITATION CONDITIONS PROVIDING A SLURRY OF SOLIDS AND LIQUID CONTAININ TETRAETHYLLEAD UNIFORMLY DISSOLVED THEREIN, WITHDRAWING THE SO FORMED SLURRY FROM THE ETHYLATION ZONE TO A SETTLING ZONE, SETTLING THE SOLIDS THEREIN AND FORMING A SUBSTANTIALLY SOLID FREE LIQUID LAYERWITHDRAWING THE LIQUID IN AMOUNT CORRESPONDING TO THE TETRAETHYLLEAD FORMED IN THE ETHYLATION ZONE, AND RECOVERING THE TETRAETHYLLEAD THEREFORM, PASSING THE SOLIDS CONTAINING PORTION TO A SERIES OF COUNTERCURRENT STAGES EACH HAVING A MIXING ZONE AND A SETTLING ZONE, FEEDING FRESH ETHYL CHLORIDE TO THE LAST MIXING ZONE AND WITHDRAWING A SOLID CONTAINING STREAM SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF TETRAETHYLLEAD FROM THE LAST SETTLING ZONE, THE LIQUID FROM THE FIRST SETTLING ZONE BEING THE RECYCLE STREAM TO THE ETHYLATION ZONE.