Process for recovering chemicals from aqueous soap solutions

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR THE RECOVERY OF A SUBSTANTIALLY PURE ALCOHOL FRACTION FROM A 20 TO 50 WEIGHT PERCENT AQUEOUS CARBOXYLIC ACID SOAP SOLUTION COMPRISING CARBONYLS AND ALCOHOLS OF THE TYPE FOUND IN THE HYDROCARBON PHASE PRODUCED BY THE FISCHER TROPSCH SYNTHESIS AND CONTAMINATING AMOUNTS OF DISSOLVED HYDROCARBONS, SAID SOAP BEING DERIVED FROM A MIXTURE OF FATTY ACIDS HAVING AN AVERAGE MOLECULAR WEIGHT RANGING FROM ABOUT 85 TO ABOUT 135 WHEREIN SAID SOAP SOLUTION IS CONTACTED WITH A LIQUID LIGHT SATURATED HYDROCARBON HAVING FROM 3 TO 4 CARBON ATOMS, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES FIRST EXTRACTING SAID SOAP SOLUTION WITH SAID LIGHT BY HYDROCARBON IN A VOLUME RATIO OF LIGHT HYDROCARBON TO SAID SOLUTION OF FROM ABOUT 1:10 TO 1:4 AT A TEMPERATURE RANGING FROM ABOUT 80*F. TO NOT MORE THAN ABOUT 5*F. BELOW THE CRITICAL TEMPERATURE OF SAID LIGHT HYDROCARBON AND AT MINIMUM PRESSURES RANGING FROM ABOUT 25 TO 50 P. S. I. FOR THE C4 HYDROCARBONS TO ABOUT 140 P. S. I. FOR THE C3 HYDROCARBON, SAID EXTRACTION BEING CARRIED OUT IN AN EXTRACTION ZONE OF NOT MORE THAN ABOUT ONE STAGE, THEREAFTER SUBJECTING THE RAFFINATE FROM SAID EXTRACTION, WHICH RAFINNATE IS NOW SUBSTANTIALLY FREE FROM CONTAMINATING HYDROCARBONS, TO A SECOND EXTRACTION STEP IN A