Separation of organic compounds by adduct formation

Claim 1

AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR THE FRACTIONATION OF A LIQUID MIXTURE OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS CONTAINING A STRAIGHT CHAIN FRACTION AND A NON-STRAIGHT CHAIN FRACTION COMPRISING INTRODUCTING SAID MIXTURE INTO A REACTION VESSEL CONTAINING A SOLID AMIDE SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF UREA AND THIOUREA, SAID VESSEL HAVING A FILTRATION ZONE IN THE LOWER PORTION THEREOF, AGITATING THE CONTENTS OF THE VESSEL FOR A TIME SUFFICIENT FOR THE AMIDE TO FORM AN ADDUCT WITH ONE OF THE FRACTIONS OF SAID MIXTURE, THE FORMATION OF SAID ADDUCT BEING AN EXOTHERMIC REACTION; DURING THE COURSE OF SAID REACTION WITHDRAWING FROM THE UPPER PART OF THE REACTION VESSEL A PORTION OF THE LIQUID MIXTURE, COOLING SAID WITHDRAWN PORTION, RETURNING IT TO THE BASE OF SAID VESSEL AND PASSING IT UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID VESSEL, WHEREBY THE VESSEL TEMPERATURE IS HELD BELOW THE ADDUCT DECOMPOSITION TEMPERATURE, ADDITIONAL AGITATION OF THE REACTION MIXTURE IS EFFECTED, AND THE ACCUMULATION OF AN IMPERVIOUS LAYER OF ADDUCT OVER THE FILTRATION ZONE IS PREVENTED; FILTERING FROM THE ADDUCT THAT FRACTION NON-REACTIVE WITH THE AMIDE AND DISCHARGING SAID FRACTION INTO A SEPARATE RECEIVING ZONE, THE ADDUCT BEING RETAINED AS RESIDUE IN THE REACTION VESSEL, WASHING THE ADDUCT FREE OF ADHERING LIQUID, THERMALLY DECOMPOSING ALL BUT A SMALL PORTION OF THE WASHED ADDUCT, THEREBY LIBERATING THE AMIDE FROM THE ORGANIC FRACTION COMBINED THEREWITH, FILTERING OFF SAID FRACTION FROM THE AMIDE AND DISCHARGING IT INTO A SECOND RECEIVING ZONE WHILE RETAINING THE SOLID AMIDE WITHIN THE REACTOR IN CONDITION FOR ANOTHER CYCLE OF ADDUCT FORMATION; THE AFORESAID SEQUENCE OF ADDUCT FORMATION, ADDUCT WASHING, AND ADDUCT DECOMPOSITION, AS WELL AS THE FILTRATION STEP FOLLOWING EACH OF SAID OPERATIONS, BEING PERFORMED IN THE REACTION VESSEL.