Purification of meta nitro para toluidine

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PURIFYING CRUDE META NITRO PARA TOLUIDINE OBTAINED BY THEAMMONOLYSIS OF META NITRO PARA CRESOL COMPRISING (A) PRETREATING SAID META NITRO PARA TOLUIDINE IN ITS LIQUID STATE WITH A DILUTE AQUEOUS ALKALI SOLUTION CONTAINING AN ALKALI FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF ALKALI METAL CARBONATES AND HYDROXIDES FOR A PERIOD OF TIME SUFFICIENT TO REMOVE A PORTION OF THE META NITRO PARA CRESOL PRESENT AS AN IMPURITY; AND SEPARATING THE AQUEOUS PHASE FROM THE RESULTANT META NITRO PARA TOLUIDINE; (B) THEREAFTER CONTACTING SAID META NITRO PARA TOLUIDINE IN A LIQUID STATE WITH A PARTICULATE SOLID ADSORBENT HAVING A PARTICLE SIZE SUCH THAT A MAJOR PERCENTAGE OF THE PARTICLES WILL PASS A 250 MESH SCREEN FOR A TIME SUFFICNET TO PERMIT ADSORPTION OF IMPURITIES FROM SAID META NITRO PARA TOLUIDINE BY SAID ADSORBENT, AT A TEMPERATURE IN EXCESS OF THE MELTING POINT OF SAID META NITRO PARA TOLUIDINE BUT BELOW THE TEMPERATURE AT WHICH SUBSTANTIAL DECOMPOSITION OF META NITRO PARA TOLUIDINE OCCURS, AND (C) THEREAFTER SEPARTING META NITRO PARA TOLUIDINE WHILE IN THE MOLTEN STATE FROM SAID PARTICULATE SOLID ADSORBENT.