Separation of glycols and glycol ethers

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR SEPARATIANG A MIXTURE CONSISTING ESSENTIALLYL OF A MAJOR PROPORTION OF AN ETHER SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF A MONOETHER OF A MONALKYLENE GLYCOL, A DIETHER OF A MONOALKYLENE GYLCOL, A MONOETHER OF A POLYALKYLENE GLYCOL AND A DIETHER OF A POLYALKYLENE GLYCOL AND A MINOR PROPORTION, UP TO ABOUT 30 PER CNET BY WEIGHT, OF A GLYCOL, WHICH COMPRISES DILUTION OF SAID MIXTURE WITH BETWEEN ABOUT 0.5 AND ABOUT 2 VOLUMES OF AN ORGANIC SOLVENT PER VOLUME OF MIXTURE, SAID SOLVENT BEING CHARACTERIZED BY SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETE MISCIBILITY WITH SAID MIXTURE AND SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETE IMMISCIBILITY WITH WATER AND BY BEING INERT TO THE GLYCOL AND ETHER COMPONENTS OF SAID MIXTURE AND BY HAVING A BOILING POINT APPRECIABLY LOWER THAN THAT OF THE ETHER COMPONENT, EXTRACTION OF THE DILUTED MIXTURE WITH AN AQUEOUS SOLUTION OF A COMPOUND SELECTED FROM WATER-SOLUBLE SALTS AND WATER-SOLUBLE BASES, SEPARATION OF THE RESULTING EXTRACT AND RAFFINATE PHASES AND DISTILLATION OF THE SEPARATED RAFFINATE PHASE, DRIVING SOLVENT THEREFROM AS OVERHEAD AND YIELDING A SUBSTANTIALLY PURE PRODUCT CONSISTING OF THE ETHER COMPONENT OF SAID MIXTURE.