Recovery of phenols

Claim 1

IN THE PROCESS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF RESORCINOL BY THE CATALYTIC DECOMPOSITION OF A REACTION MIXTURE CONTAINING META-DIISOPROPYLBENZENE DIHYDROPEROXIDE TOGETHER WITH A SMALL AMOUNTS OF A HYDROPEROXIDE OF THE GROUP CONSISTING OF META-DIISOPROPYLBENZENE MONOHYDROPEROXIDE, META - (2 - HYDROXY-2-PROPYL)-A,A-DIMETHYLBENXYL HYDROPEROXIDE AND MIXTURES THEREOF, FOLLOWED BY DISTILLATION OF THE DECOMPOSITION REACTION PRODUCTS IN THE PRESENCE OF A HIGH BOILING SUBSTANCE SUBSTANTIALLY INERT TO RESORCINOL, AND COLLECTION OF A DISTILLATE CONTAINING RESORCINOL, META-ISOPROPYL PHENOL, META-ISOPROPENYL PHENOL AND SAID HIGH BOILING SUBSTANCE FOLLOWED BY SEPARATION OF RESORCINOL FROM SAID DISTILLATE TO LEAVE A RESIDUE OF THE DISTILLATE WHICH IS RECYCLED TO THE DISTILLATION STEP, THE IMPROVEMENT WHEREBY SAID RESIDUE OF THE DISTILLATE IS FREED OF META-SIOPROPYL PHENOL AND META-ISOPROPENYL PHENOL PRIOR TO RECYCLE, WHICH COMPRISES HEATING SAID RESIDUE OF THE DISTILLATE UNDER POLYMERIZATION CONDITIONS UNTIL THE META-ISOPROPENYL PHENOL IS SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETELY POLYMERIZED, SUBSEQUENTLY DISTILLING THE VOLATILE FRACTION CONTAINING META-ISOPROPYL PHENOL AND SAID HIGH BOILING SUBSTANCE FROM POLYMERIZED META-ISOPROPENYL PHENOL, AND EXTRACTING THE META-ISOPROPYL PHENOL FROM SAID VOLATILE FRACTION BY AN AQUEOUS ALKALI HYDROXIDE SOLUTION.