Bonded silica gel products

Claim 1

A STABLE, SELF-SUPPORTING, ELONGATED ROD CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF CONSTITUENTS SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF: (A) FROM APPROXIMATELY 25 TO APPROXIMATELY 95 PERCETN BY WEIGHT O FSILICA GEL PARTICLES, THE INDIVIDUAL PARTICLES HAVING A MAXIMUM DIMENSION WHICH IS A SMALL FRACTION OF THE MINIMUM DIMENSION OF SAID RODS; (B) FROM AT ELAST 5 TO APPROXIMATELY 50 PERCENT BY WEIGHT OF A THERMOPLASTIC RESIN, SAID THERMOPLASTIC RESIN BEING OPERATIVE ESSENTAILLY ALONE TO EFFECT BONDING BRIDGES BETWEEN JUXTAPOSED CONSUITUENTS THROUGH HEATING AND SUBSEQUENT COOLING; AND (C) AN ADDITIVE MATERIAL HAVING A MAXIMUM DIMENSION WHICH IS A SMALL FRACTION OF THE MINIMUM DIMENSION OF SAID RODS; SAID ROD FURTHER BEING CHARACTERIZED BY: (1) SAID SILICA GEL PARTICLES SERVING AS THE MAJOR ACTIVE COMPONENT OF SAID ROD; (2) SAID THERMOPLASTIC RESIN ESSENTIALLY ALONE SERVING AS A BINDER BETWEEN SAID CONSTITUENTS AND DEFINING A MULTIPLICITY OF DISCRETE BONDING MEANS PREDOMINANTLY INDIVIDUALLY SMALLER THAN SAIS SILICA GEL PARTICLES; (3) SAID CONSTITUENTS COOPERATING THROUGH SAID BONDING MEANS TO GIVE STRUCTURAL CONTINUITY TO SAID ROD AS A SELF-SUSTAINING, SUBSTANTIALLY PARTICULATE STABE BODY IN THE FORM OF A CONTINUOUS POROUS MATRIX; (4) SAID CONSTITUENTS BEING COMINGLED IN ANY CROSSSECTION OF SAID BODY AND WITH SAID SILICA GEL PARTICLES RANDOMLY ARRANGED IN SAID ROD SUCH TAHT A MULTIPLICITY OF SAID SILICA GEL PARTICLES ARE PRESENT IN SUBSTANTIALLY AND CROSS-SECTION OF SAID BODY; AND (5) SAID BODY DERIVING ITS STABILITY SUBSTANTIALLY ONELY FROM SAID COOPERATION BETWEEN SAID BONDING MEANS AND SAID CONSTITUENTS.