Merck + Co., Inc.

Ralph J Magliette

Edamanal S Venkataramani

Andrew L Forman

Donald McKinney

Alan S Michaels

Richard Robert Dauer

Ed Venkat

William A Vaughn

The recovery of iodide from chemical process wastewater is accomplished by loading the wastewater containing iodide onto a strongly basic anion-exchange resin in free-base form; eluting the sorbed iodide from the resin with aqueous strong acid (e.g., hydrochloric acid); loading the iodide-rich cuts onto a weakly basic anion-exchange resin in free-base form; and eluting the sorbed iodide with aqueous base (e.g., sodium hydroxide). The recovered iodide typically has sufficient purity to permit its re-use in the chemical process.

Recovery of iodide from chemical process wastewater

Disclosed is a process for recovering and recycling waste methanesulfonic acid (MSA) and phosphorous acid (H.sub.3 PO.sub.3) in a bisphosphonation process for reuse in the process. The recovery process involves treating a waste crude mother liquor stream with HCl to remove sodium ion, as sodium chloride, recovering HCl--H.sub.2 O by atmospheric distillation, separating and dehydrating a mixture of methanesulfonic acid and phosphorous acid by vacuum distillation for recycle. The substantially dry methanesulfonic acid and phosphorous acid, and previous HCl, can all be recycled back to the process for reuse.

Process for recovery and recycle of methanesulfonic acid and phosphorous

Disclosed is a process for removing by-product phosphorus-containing (PO.sub.x) materials, alendronate and alendronate byproducts from crude mother liquors in an omega amino-1-hydroxy-C.sub.2 -C.sub.6 alkylidene-1,1-bisphosphonic acid synthesis process, e.g. alendronate sodium. Calcium chloride is added first to the crude mother liquors, then calcium oxide to precipitate the PO.sub.x materials, then neutralized to about pH 7 to complete precipitation. Substantially all of the alendronate sodium active ingredient is removed from the precipitate. Following filtration, the PO.sub.x filtercake can then be disposed of by incineration, landfilling or reclamation of usable phosphorus as fertilizer. The remaining filtrate can then be further treated in an environmentally acceptable manner by wastewater treatment or recycling to the process.

Process for removing waste pox, alendronate and its by products

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Piscataway, NJ, United States of America

Ralph J Magliette