Sulzer Chemtech Ag

Stefan Sander

Laurent Zuber

Oliver Bailer

Heinz Meierhofer

A method and plant for obtaining acetic acid and methanol from the hydrolysis of methyl acetate by reactive distillation is disclosed. The reactive distillation column is configured as a divided wall reactive distillation column (). A feed containing water and methyl acetate are brought into contact with a catalyst in a reactive space () to perform the hydrolysis of water and methyl acetate to methanol and acetic acid. The reactive space comprises at least a first rectification zone (), a first stripping zone () and a first reaction zone (). A catalyst is provided in the first reaction zone (). The column further comprises a product space () with at least a second rectification zone () and a second stripping zone (). The second stripping zone () shares at least a portion of the column sump () with the first stripping zone (). A first head product is discharged from a reactive space head portion () and a bottom product is discharged from the column sump () and a second head product is discharged from a product space head portion () and an intermediate product is discharged from the product space ().

Reactive distillation process and plant for obtaining acetic acid and alcohol from the hydrolysis of methyl acetate

Carboxylic acid ester is produced by esterification of carboxylic acid and an alcohol in a catalytic reaction zone of a first column at a pressure not greater than ambient pressure. The resultant sump product is distilled in a reaction zone of a second column at a pressure greater than 1.5 bar to obtain a second liquid sump product containing carboxylic acid ester with an carboxylic acid content of less than 100 ppm by weight at a lower end of the column. Neutralization of the second liquid sump product with a base is not required.

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Winterhur, Sweden

Stefan Sander