Recovery from metal-free oxygenated alcohol products arising during mod- ified oxidation of aluminum alkyls

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PREPARING AND ALCOHOL FROM A MIXTURE OF NORMALLY LIQUID ALUMINUM TRIALKYLS CONTAMINATED WITH HYDROCARBON WHICH COMPRISES OXIDIZING A TRIALKYL AMUMINUM IN WHICH EACH ALKYL GROUP CONTAINS FROM 2 TO 20 CARBON ATOMS WITH MOLCULAR OXYGE UNTIL ABOUT 0.7 TO 1 MOLE OF OXYGEN PER MOLE OF ALUMINUM TRIALKYL HAS REACTED, STRIPPING THE HYDROCARBON CONTAINMINANT FROM THE PARTIALLY OXIDIZED ALUMINUM TRIALKYL AT REDUCED PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURES OF BELOW 400*C., SUBJECTING SAID PARTIALLY OXIDIZED ALUMINUM TRIALKYL TO A FURTHER RAPID OXIDATION AT A TEMPERATURE OF 50* TO 100*C. WITH A 10 TO 100% MOLAR EXCESS OF MOLECULAR OXYGEN PER MOLE OF UNOXIDIZED ALUMINUM TRIALKYL THEREBY FORMING AN ALCOHOLATE HAVING THE FORMULA: AI(OR)3 WHEREIN EACH R IS A C2 TO C20 ALKYL GROUP, HYDROLYZING SAID ALCOHOLATE AND BYPRODUCT ESTERS TO HYDROL SUBJECTING THE ALCOHOLATE AND BYPRODUCT ESTERS TO HYDROLYSIS THEREBY FORMING A MIXTURE OF ALCOHOLS AND ESTERS, REACTING SAID MIXTURE WITH A MATERIAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF HYDROGENATION AGENTS AND SAPONIFICATION AGENTS TO CONVERT AT LEAST A PART OF THE ESTERS TO ALCOOHOLS AND RECOVERING THE ACOHOLS FORMED AS A RESULT OF SAID HYDROLYSIS AND CONVERSION.