Recovery of by-product aluminum and preparation of aluminum alkyls

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR PREPARATION OF TRIALKYLALUMINUM BY (1) REACTING AN ALKYL ALUMINUM HALIDE WITH AN AMOUNT OF SODIUM AT LEAST STOICHIOMETRICALLY SUFFICIENT TO PROVIDE A REACTION PRODUCT MIXTURE CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF TRIALKYLALUMINUM AND, AS BY-PRODUCTS, SODIUM HALIDE AND ELEMENTAL ALUMINUM, AND (2) SEPARATING THE TRIALKYLALUMINUM FROM SAID PRODUCT MIXTURE THEREBY PROVIDING A BY-PRODUCT MIXTURE OF SAID SODIUM HALIDE AND ELEMENTAL ALUMINUM, THE METHOD FOR RECOVERY AND UTILIZATION OF THE BY-PRODUCT ELEMENTAL ALUMINUM IN SAID BY-PRODUCT MIXTURE WHICH COMPRISES (3) REACTING THE ELEMENTAL ALUMINUM IN SAID BY-PRODUCT MIXTURE WITH AN AMOUNT OF AN ALKYL HALIDE AT LEAST STOICHIOMETRICALLY SUFFICIENT TO CONVERT THE BY-PRODUCT ALUMINUM TO A MIXTURE OF DIALKYLALUMINUM HALIDE AND MONOALKYLALUMINUM DIHALIDE IN THE PRESENCE OF SODIUM HALIDCE, AND (4) SUBJECTING THE RESULTING MIXTURE OF MONO- AND DI-ALKYL ALUMINUM HALIDES IN PRESENCE OF SODIUM HALIDE TO REACTION WITH AN AMOUNT OF SODIUM SUFFICIENT TO CONVERT A SUBSTANTIAL OF THE ALUMINUM CONTENT OF SAID ALKYL ALUMINUM HALIDES TO TRIALKYLALUMINUM TO PROVIDE A REACTION PRODUCT MIXTURE CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF SAID TRIALKYLALUMINUM, SODIUM HALIDE AND ALUMINUM.