Process for separating chlorides from gaseous mixtures thereof

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR SEPARATING CONSTITUENTS OF A HOT GASEOUS MIXTURE CONTAINING IN VAPOR PHASE AT LEAST ONE NORMALLY LIQUID METAL CHLORIDE AND AT LEAST ONE NORMALLY SOLID METAL CHLORIDE THAT CONDENSES SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE SAME TEMPERATURE RANGE AS THE NORMALLY LIQUID METAL CHLORIDE CONTENT, AS PRODUCED BY THE CHLORINATION AT HIGH TEMPERATURE OF OXIDIC METALLIFEROUS MATERIAL IN THE PRESENCE OF CARBONACEOUS REDUCING MATERIAL, WHICH COMPRISES COOLING THE HOT GASEOUS MIXTURE TO A TEMPERATURE NEAR YET ABOVE THE DEW POINT OF THE NORMALLY LIQUID METAL CHLORIDE CONTENT, THUS CONDENSING A MAJOR PORTION OF THE NORMALLY SOLID METAL CHLORIDE CONTENT IN DRY FORM, SEPARATING THE DRY CONDENSED SOLID CHLORIDE FROM THE REMAINING GASES AT A TEMPERATURE STILL ABOVE SAID DEW POINT, THEN PASSING THE REMAINING GASES CONTAINING SAID METAL CHLORIDES SUBSTANTIALLY ONLY IN VAPOR PHASE PROGRESSIVELY THROUGH A PLURALITY OF SUCCESSIVELY COOLER LIQUID CHLORIDE CONDENSATION ZONES FOR CONDENSING SUCCESSIVE PREDETERMINED PROPORTIONS OF SAID METAL CHLORIDES, AND CONDENSING QUANTITIES OF BOTH SAID NORMALLY LIQUID AND SAID NORMALLY SOLID METAL CHLORIDES FROM THE REMAINING GASES IN EACH OF SAID ZONES WHILE MAINTAINING THEREIN A PREDETERMINED CONDENSATION TEMPERATURE AT WHICH ALL THE NORMALLY SOLID METAL CHLORIDE CONDENSED THEREIN IS SOLUBLE IN THE AMOUNT OF NORMALLY LIQUID METAL CHLORIDE CONDENSED THEREIN.