Fractionation mixtures by zone precipitation

Claim 1

AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR SEPARATING A NONCRYSTALLINE WAX INTO HIGHER AND LOWER MELTING COMPONENTS WHICH COMPRISES: DISSOLVING SAID WAX IN A SOLVENT SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF METHYL ETHYL KETONE, TOLUENE, SECONDARY BUTYL ACETATE, CARBON TETRACHLORIDE, AND ETHYLENE GLYCOL IN A SOLVENT/WAX RATIO OF FROM ABOUT 6:1 TO 3:1; COOLING THE RESULTING SOLUTION FORMING AN ELONGATED SOLID MASS CONTAINING SAID SOLVENT AND SAID WAX DISSOLVED THROUGHOUT SAID SOLVENT; PASSING AT LEAST TWO SPACED HOT ZONES FROM ONE END OF SAID ELONGATED SOLID MASS TOWARDS THE OTHER END; LIQUEFYING THAT PORTION OF SAID ELONGATED SOLID MASS IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF SAID HOT ZONE; RESOLIDIFYING AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID WAX BETWEEN SAID HOT ZONES; REPEATING SAID PASSES UNTIL THE WAX HAS BEEN MELTED AND RESOLIDIFIED ABOUT 8 TO 40 TIMES, THEREBY SELECTIVELY DISSOLVING AND INCREASING THE CONCENTRATION OF HIGHER MELTING POINT WAX IN ONE END OF SAID ELONGATED MASS AND INCREASING THE CONCENTRATION OF THE LOWER MELTING POINT WAX IN THE OTHER END; REMOVING THE SOLVENT FROM SAID SOLUTION; AND SEGMENTING THE WAX INTO HIGHER AND LOWER MELTING POINT FRACTIONS.