Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.

Michio Umeda

Hideaki Iwata

Fujimasa Nakao

Tadashi Tomitaka

A process for producing aromatic carboxylic acids efficiently by operating a distillation column for separating the vaporized reaction solvent and other useful ingredients from an oxidation reactor while permitting efficient energy recovery without causing any obstruction to turbine and without causing any clogging of the distillation column, said process comprising oxidizing an alkyl aromatic compound in a liquid reaction solvent comprising an aliphatic carboxylic acid with a molecular oxygen-containing gas in the presence of an oxidation catalyst in the said oxidation reactor to form an aromatic carboxylic acid, guiding the oxidation reactor exhaust gas into the distillation column to subject it to a distillation, passing the distilltion overhead gas to a condenser to form a condensate, which is returned to the distillation column, and to generate a steam on the shell side, which is guided to a steam turbine for energy recovery, and burning the condenser exit gas in order to drive a gas turbine for energy reclamation.

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Ohtake, Japan

Michio Umeda