Purification of metal chlorides

Claim 1

A CONTINOUS PROCESS FOR PURIFYING A MIXTURE OF METAL CHLORIDE BY REMOVING A CONTAMINATION METAL CHLORIDE SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF IRON CHLORIDE AND ALUMINUM CHLORIDE FROM AT LEAST ONE OTHER METAL CHLORIDE SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF NIOBIUM CHLORIDE, TANTALUM CHLORIDE, TUNGSTEN CHLORIDE AND TUNGSTEN OXYCHLORIDE COMPRISING: (A) VAPORIZING SAID METAL CHLORIDE MIXTURE (B) PASSING THE SAID VAPORIZED MIXTURE INTO ONE END OF A COLUMN OF SOLID SODIUM CHLORIDE MAINTAINED AT A TEMPERATURE OF BETWEEN 250*C. AND 450*C; (C) MAINTAINING SOLID SODIUM CHLORIDE IN THE SAID COLUMN THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS BY ADDING SOLID SODIUM CHLORIDE THERETO; (D) PASSING SAID VAPORIZED MIXTURE THROUGH SAID COLUMN WHEREBY TO FORM A COMPLEX OF SAID CONTAMINATING METAL CHLORIDE AND SAID SODIUM CHLORIDE; AND (E) WITHDRAWING A VAPOR STREAM OF SAID OTHER METAL CHLORIDE FROM THE OTHER END OF SAID COLUMN AFTER PASSAGE OF SAID VAPORIZED MIXTURE THROUGH SAID COLUMN.