are suitable for the extraction steps of the present invention following heat soaking previous solvent fractionation methods have required the steps of fluxing and filtering the heat soaked pitch to remove contaminants however the present invention eliminates these process steps by the use of a clean particulate free heat soaked pitch thus the process of the present invention proceeds directly from the heat soaking of the feed pitch to the solvent extraction of the mesogen or mesophase containing heat soaked pitch the solvent extraction process of the present invention can be performed as either a liquid liquid extraction or a liquid solid extraction liquid liquid extractions are preferred because they equilibrate rapidly and adapt well to continuous processing methods a further advantage of liquid liquid processing is the ability to bypass the solids handling steps of digesting filtering washing drying and remelting associated with liquid solid extraction methods liquid liquid extractions are performed at temperatures and pressures sufficient to maintain the heat soaked pitch the solvent and the precipitated mesogens in the liquid state typically suitable temperatures will be between about 100 u00b0 and about 400 u00b0 c preferably the temperatures will be between about 180 u00b0 and about 340 u00b0 c during the solvent extraction process the pressure of the system must be sufficient to maintain the solvent in the liquid state typically.