Hydrocarbon purification process

Claim 1

A METHOD FOR SEPARATING A FIRST COMPONENT FROM A FEED MIXTURE SEPARABLE BY FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION AND CONTAINING SAID FIRST COMPONENT AND AT LEAST ONE OTHER COMPONENT BOILING BELOW SAID FIRST COMPONENT AND AT LEAST ANOTHER COMPONENT BOILING ABOVE SAID FIRST COMPONENT COMPRISING FRACTIONALLY DISTILLING SAID MIXTURE TO PRODUCE A KETTLE PRODUCT COMPRISING SAID COMPONENT BOILING ABOVE SAID FIRST COMPONENT AND AN OVERHEAD PRODUCT COMPRISING SAID COMPONENT BOILING BELOW SAID FIRST COMPONENT, WITHDRAWING A SIDESTREAM FROM THE FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION OPERATION, PASSING THE WITHDRAWN SIDESTREAM IN A FIRST INDIRECT HEAT EXCHANGE WITH SAID FEED MIXTURE TO COOL SAME, WITHDRAWING THE HEAT EXCHANGED SIDESTREAM AS A MAIN PRODUCT OF THE PROCESS, WITHDRAWING KETTLE PRODUCT FROM THE DISTILLATION OPERATION, PASSING AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE WITHDRAWN KETTLE PRODUCT IN A SECOND INDIRECT HEAT EXCHANGE WITH THE FEED MIXTURE UPSTREAM OF SAID FIRST INDIRECT HEAT EXCHANGE AS REGARDS DIRECTION OF FLOW OF SAID FEED MIXTURE TO COOL SAME, AND WITHDRAWING THE KETTLE PRODUCT FROM SAID SECOND INDIRECT HEAT EXCHANGE AS ANOTHER PRODUCT OF THE PROCESS.