Flotation of active catalyst from spent catalyst

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF SEPARATING PARTIALLY SPENT CATALYST INTO A FRACTION OF RELATIVELY HIGH ACTIVITY AND A FRACTION OF RELATIVELY LOW ACTIVITY WHICH COMPRISES DISPERSING THE CATALYST IN A LIQUID MEDIUM COMPRISING A MAJOR PROPORTION OF A HALOGENATED ORGANIC SOLVENT HAVING A DENSITY HIGHER THAN THE DENSITY OF THE CATALYST, SAID HALOGENATED ORGANIC SOLVENT CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF A MEMBER OF THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ACETYLENE TETRABROMIDE, METHYLENE BROMIDE AND TETRABROMETHANE, AND A MINOR PROPORTION OF AN OXYGENATED ORGANIC SOLVENT MISCIBLE WITH SAID HALOGENATED SOLVENT AND WHICH IS MORE HIGHLY ADSORBED ON SAID CATALYST THAN IS SAID HALOGENATED SOLVENT, SAID OXYGENATED ORGANIC SOLVENT CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF A MEMBER OF THE GROUP CONSISTING OF METHANOL, ETHANOL, ISOPROPANOL, ACETONE, FURFURAL, ETHYL ACETATE AND GLACIAL ACETIC ACID, AND RECOVERING BY FLOTATION A FRACTION OF CATALYST OF RELATIVELY HIGH ACTIVITY.