Separation of aluminum alkyl compounds

Claim 1

A PROCESS OF SEPARATING A TRIALKYL ALUMINUM MIXTURE CONSISTING OF MOIETIES REPRESENTED BY THE EXPRESSION RAL, WHEREIN RAL IS A MOIETY HAVING ALKYL GROUP R AND AL IS THE MONOVALENT EQUIVALENT OF ALUMINUM, A PLURALITY OF DIFFERENT LENGTH ALKYL GROUPS BEING PRESENT, SAID PROCESS COMPRISING CONTACTING THE TRIALKYL ALUMINUM FEED WITH A TWO-SOLVENT SYSTEM CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF A FIRST SOLVENT SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF HALOALKYL ETHERS, AND DI-LOWER ALKYL ETHERS OF GLYCOLS, THE SECOND SOLVENT BEING A PARAFFIN HYDROCARBON, THE FIRST SOLVENT BEING FURTHER DEFINED IN THAT IT IS NON-REACTIVE AT CONTACTING CONDITIONS WITH THE ALKYL ALUMINUM, AND FORMS A SEPARATE PHASE WITH THE SECOND SOLVENT IN THE PRESENCE OF THE TRIALKYL ALUMINUM, AND DISTRIBUTING THEREBY THE RAL MOIETIES IN THE TWO PHASES THUS FORMED, THE FIRST SOLVENT PHASE BEING ENRICHED IN THE SHORTER ALKYL RAL MOIETIES AND THE SECOND SOLVENT PHASE BEING ENRICHED IN THE LONGER ALKYL RAL MOIETIES, AND SEPARATING SAID PHASES.