Chromatographic purification of higher fatty alcohols

Claim 1

A PROCESS OF PURIFYING A HIGHER FATTY ALCOHOL OF 10-18 CARBON ATOMS CONTAINING AS IMPURITIES A TOTAL OF 2-50% OF A MIXTURE OF COMPOUNDS OF FORMULAS RH, ROR'' AND R"COOR, WHERE R AND R'' ARE FATTY ALKYL RADICALS OF 10-18 CARBON ATOMS AND R" IS A FATTY ALKYL RADICAL OF 9-17 CARBON ATOMS, WHICH COMPRISES CONTACTING AN ACTIVATED ALUMINA ADSORBENT WITH A SOLUTION OF THE IMPURE HIGHER FATTY ALCOHOL AND, IN THE PRESENCE OF THE HIGHER FATTY ALCOHOL AND IMPURITY, ALSO CONTACTING THE ACTIVATED ALUMINA ADSORBENT WITH A SOLVENT SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF CARBON TETRACHLORIDE AND BENZENE TO EFFECT THE ADSORPTION OF HIGHER FATTY ALCOHOL AND SOLUTION OF IMPURITY IN SAID SOLVENT, SEPARATING THE SOLUTION OF IMPURITY IN SAID SOLVENT FROM THE ABSORBENT AND DESORBING THE ABSORBED PURIFIED FATTY ALCOHOL WITH A MONOHYDRIC ALCOHOL OF 1-3 CARBON ATOMS, WHEREBY A LOWER ALCOHOL SOLUTION OF HIGHER FATTY ALCOHOL IS OBTAINED FREE OF THE AFOREMENTIONED IMPURITIES.