Process for producing phenolic compounds

Abstract

In a process for producing a phenolic compound which comprises treating an aralkyl hydroperoxide with a mineral acid to cleave it to phenolic compound and a ketone, neutralizing or removing the mineral acid, feeding the resulting acid cleavage mixture containing the salt to a distillation column, distilling it therein to separate it into an overhead fraction consisting mainly of the ketone and a bottom fraction consisting mainly of the phenolic compound, and recovering the phenolic compound from the bottom fraction; the improvement which comprises withdrawing a liquid layer from a site of feeding the acid cleavage mixture in the distillation column or from a site below it but above the bottom of the distillation column, subjecting the liquid layer to an oil-water separating means, recycling the separated oil layer to a site below said site of withdrawal, optionally feeding a hydrocarbon having a lower boiling point than the phenolic compound but a higher boiling point than the keton and/or water to the distillation column, and recovering the phenolic compound from the bottom fraction whose salt content has thus been reduced.